Not sure if I'm in the minority, but I really enjoy owning football shirts, it's the closest thing I have to 'liking fashion', and it's all down to opinion too. Some people's crap is another's gold, as they say.
I'm not sure when it started but I had the idea of collecting shirts from places I've been. Since then it's become places or clubs I hope to visit for a match and also owning a shirt from every major continent. I generally buy a Palace shirt every season, so nothing too odd about that but on a trip to Slovakia, I wanted to buy a shirt of one of the Bratislava clubs, but ultimately couldn't find one!
For some reason this willed me on to buy my first foreign football shirt, all the way from South Africa, an Orlando Pirates home shirt. I was pleased by the thought of having a shirt that most wouldn't have in the UK but a tad embarrassed I hadn't visited the country, although it hasn't stopped me! I also like retro tops, the typical England 66 and Palace 70's retro tops already in my possession, I then got a Pelé New York Cosmos green away shirt. More recently I have fulfilled my urge to have shirts of my favourite South American teams, getting Santos with a Neymar print and a very nice River Plate away kit (I'll blame the latter on Palace's lack of a sash kit for a couple of years for this!!).
I doubt I'll end up with hundreds of hoarded shirts, but possibly 'more than the average bear'...! I have a few more on my wishlist, some will be harder than others to get hold of, as I like to make sure I get the shirt in the right size for me, so I actually get some use out of them!
Next target purchases (no time frame on it, as and when):
Cruzeiro HOME - always loved their kits, and follow them Brazilian football wise, so would like this whether it be the latest or a retro shirt.
FC Wacker Innsbruck HOME - A huge fan of the country of Austria, particularly the Innsbruck/Tirol region and although I've not seen the team play, have seen the stadium (year before the Euro's held there) and so follow the results of that club.
Real Betis preferably AWAY - I've liked Betis since the mid/late 90's and become a bit more obsessed with them when they signed Denilson (and the disappointing journey that followed!), I'm not a big fan of their home green and white stripes, but their away or third kit of multiple Greens normally looks the dog's.... well normally.
A team from Bratislava - this one will be tricky, Slovan would be the easiest to get hold of, but even that will be hard to do!!
Dortmund Home - This one should be very easy to obtain, so loses the appeal a tad unless I can get it very cheaply.
More updates on shirt purchases, as and when!!
