Marseille Kits: The Best, The Worst & Where To Buy
Didier Drogba, Marcell Desailly, Abedi Pele and Didier Deschamps are just some of the iconic names to don Marseille kits during their illustrious careers.
Marseille are the second-most successful club in France, lifting the Ligue 1 trophy on nine occasions. They are the only French club to have held the European Cup aloft, defeating a star-studded Milan team in the 1993 final.
Studies have labelled Les Phocéens as the second-most supported club in France, just behind their bitter rivals Paris Saint Germain.
Marseille kits are a common sight around the country as a result, even though they have won only one league title since 1995 – though PSG kits are now commonplace as well after their recent era of dominance.
The Stade Vélodrome, with a capacity over 67,000, has one of the fiercest atmospheres in world football. It’s a ground-trembling noise when Van Halen echoes out over the sound system before each match. This is a club with a supporter base like few others.
Best Marseille Kits
There’s a lot to choose from with the best Marseille kits. The beauties of the Panasonic-era in the 1990s are what will first come to mind for many given the success the team enjoyed. Those three stripes across the shoulder are iconic.
Even the Marseille kits of the 1980s were majestic in their simplicity. The lengthy partnership with Adidas continued to produce gems well into the late-1990s — the Ericsson sponsor only enhancing the jerseys.
The light-blue cross on the white home shirt in 2000-01 was a cracker, and the contrast of the light and dark blue on the away kit worked a treat. The noughties weren’t the best period, but they came back to form as the 2010s rolled round.
The 2010-11 was a particular highlight with the multi-coloured stripe behind the badge and sponsor on a black torso with light-blue trim. Fans have been spoilt for choice with the best Marseille kits in the 2010s.
The 2013-14 third kit is one of our favourites, while the 2016-17 home jersey sees a return of the cross design, albeit off-centre on this occasion. Puma livened things up a bit with their arrival for 2018-19.
The German company have firmly pushed the boat out with their patterns. The 2020-21 third kit borders on mesmeric, and the 2021-22 shirt feels like it belongs in an optical illusion.
Worst Marseille Kits
There haven’t been many shockers in the history of Marseille kits. Perhaps the greatest criticism is the lack of inventiveness at times, though that’s arguably just down to a limited flexibility given the colours designers have to work with.
Template-following designs of the early noughties are a bit soulless, for instance
Three kits with light-blue, dark-blue and white as the colours isn’t exactly anything to write home about, while the fading stripes on the 2004-05 away jersey are something of a marmite look.
A gold-ish 2008-09 third strip isn’t the prettiest we’ve ever seen. A risky orange pattern with light-blue trim was the third kit in the season previous, and it’s certainly one that takes a bit of getting used to.
In the last decade or so, though, there’s very little to complain about with Marseille kits. As a club shirt history goes, Les Olympiens can be pretty proud. The pile of gorgeous kits far outweighs the unattractive.
Where To Buy Marseille Kits
The usual places should stock the main Marseille kits. Puma, their current kit manufacturer, is likely the first site you will head to, while those in France should be quick to check out the official club store.
Beyond that, any of the big sportswear shops in your country are likely to have Marseille home and away kits. Sports Direct, JD Sports and Fanatics UK are the best places to look for those in the United Kingdom. Kitbag is also an option to check out.
If you’re searching for something a bit different, eBay can have some gems. It takes a lot of research and scrolling to find exactly what you want, though, and caution should always be exercised when buying football shirts from independent sellers.
Various companies sell classic football kits, and Marseille’s best jerseys are popular on these platforms. Social media is a good way to locate the best sellers.
Marseille Kit Price
The price of football shirts is a contentious topic. Marseille kits are not exempt from the furore.
Buying a brand new Marseille home shirt will set you back the same as the kit of any major European club. There are seldom bargains to be had with new kits.
An adult replica version of this season’s home shirt will cost around £70. That price soars to over £100 for the ‘Authentic’ version on Puma’s website. Those prices are mirrored in the away kits.
Buying kids jerseys is a lot cheaper, though the recommended retail price of £50 is going to make most parents wince. Unfortunately, shopping around is unlikely to make much of a difference if you’re locked on buying the latest kits.
One way to drop the price is to buy shirts that are a season or two old. These can often be found in a sale and are the best way to get a real bargain when purchasing football kits.
Alternatively, fans can delve into the second-hand market. There are risks associated with the condition of the shirt if buying from Depop or eBay, but there are again bargains to be found.
Plenty will also be wary of fake shirts on these marketplaces. There are guides all over the internet to help pick out the fakes – our advice is that if something looks too good to be true… it probably is.
Ultimately, there’s an enormous range in the price of Marseille kits. Second hand is worth investigating, though that can also lead to some very expensive shirts if they are particularly rare and/or fall into the classics category.
Sites like Classic Football Shirts are worth checking out. They have the high-end classics that can get into the hundreds, but there are sometimes cheap recent shirts, too. At the time of writing, they have the 2018-19 third shirt available for £14.99.