Colin Damms: 2007-2009 Home Kit

Photo by ben radford/Corbis via Getty Images

This kit has everything: Glamour, the classic shade of red, a slick stripe down the back, and a glittering Champions League font change. However, what is perhaps more important is the association with greatness. United won 3 straight Premier League titles from 2006-2009, and 2 of them were in this kit. Add to that a League Cup title, and most importantly the 2008 UEFA Champions League title, and you’ve got one of the most successful runs in club history, by possibly the strongest team in club history.

This home kit was paired with some very nice away and alternate kits as well, notably the white and blue away kits from 2008-2009, but the royal red is iconic on its own for very good reason. Nostalgia certainly plays a part in my judgment, as this was what we wore in the formative years of my Manchester United fandom, and I will die on the hill that this team is one of the greatest to ever step onto a football pitch, but the jerseys were a big part of the undeniable swagger those teams had. Manchester United style at its finest in the years before both the team and Nike fell out of their world class form. -CD

Nathan Heintschel: 1997-2000 Long Sleeve European Kit

photo by Alain Gadoffre / Onze / Icon Sport via Getty Images

Historical significance aside, this is just an effing beautiful kit. Umbro outdid themselves when United needed a shirt specifically for European competition.

The base red is highlighted by the white accents of the collar to make the kit pop. Then you take a closer look and see the Champions League ball in a slightly different shade of red revealing itself to you in the right light. The crest is magnificent on the left side of the chest with the extra gold outline that lets you know this is the shirt of, (in the most Vinnie Jones’ voice from Eurotrip (2004) “the greatest football team in the world, Manchester United.”

The long sleeves provide an extra bit of nostalgia, and my heart skips a beat every time I see a player sprinting at top speed, arms wide open, and the shirt catching the wind like a parachute. Plus, the shirt also harkens back to a time when United’s shirt sponsor wasn’t a mediocre American car company.

ALSO THIS IS THE SHIRT WE WORE WHEN WE COMPLETED THE BLOODY TREBLE. STICK IT IN YOUR EAR, MANCHESTER CITY AND LIVERPOOL! - NH

Pauly Kwestel: 2016-17 White Away Kit

Colin and Nathan have already grabbed the two kits that will always be held in the highest regards because that’s what we wore when we lifted the Champions League’s big ear trophy. I could easily select either of the other two kits we wore in 2008-09, the blue or the white, but I thought the white was better and my two lasting memories of that kit are losing at Anfield and this...

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The 2012-13 checkerboard kit deserves a shout as well but instead of choosing one that’s associated with a great season I’m going with one that just stands up on its own.

This white kit is as close to perfection as United have gotten since Adidas became the club’s shirt maker. The Chevrolet logo has been very hard to incorporate into a United shirt and this one does it as well as you can. The vertical black stripes were a nice touch from Adidas that season as well as the black dots all over the shoulder. Adidas knew they did something right here because they basically took this shirt and gave it to Russia at the 2018 World Cup.

I’m always a little privy to a white kit because United’s best moments at Anfield always seem to come in white (Forlan, O’Shea, Mata) and it’s a goddamn tragedy that they wore those damn blues at Anfield that season instead of this one. That was probably the difference between the 0-0 draw and a 1-0 win. I’m not going to blame the kit choice on José Mourinho but I’m definitely not going to say it wasn’t his fault either.

The only crime these kits committed was that United didn’t wear them more often. By my count they lined up in these bad boys just six times all season. In a year where they drew far too many games, United won five times in white. Their lone loss came in the League Cup semifinal where Paul Pogba’s 66th minute goal was enough to see the Reds advance to Wembley.

Honorable Mentions

• 2015-16 Home Red
• 1994-96 Home Red
• 2008-09 Away Blue
• 2012-14 Away White

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