Which team had the best vintage  Kappa shirt?

The Italian brand might not cast as wide a shadow across the kit world as Nike or adidas, but they have stood tall as one of the most creative and beautiful shirt makers over the years, from their early days with Juventus to their modern creations with Napoli.

Kappa were the brand behind the incredible Kombat kits at the turn of the millennium, which showcased what was possible with material innovation. The explicit use of the Kappa logo on sleeves led to some gorgeous designs which remain the pinnacle of hipster, nostalgic kit culture decades after their original appearances.

As we did with our best USA ‘94 shirts list, we asked Twitter to help us compile a list of the best Kappa shirts of all time, and the results were predictably stunning with teams from Serie A, La Liga and the Premier League.  Here are our favourites.

An impossible task?

Forza27 summed up the feelings of many as we began.

Trying to pick just one like... pic.twitter.com/e4vdbOQeuZ

— Forza27 (@Forza27_RS) May 21, 2020

1.  Juventus football shirts

Juventus and Kappa is a good place to start.  Juve were Kappa’s first big break, so they seem like a natural place to start our Kappa love-in.

pic.twitter.com/Dphvqiipxp

— Pierre Mezerette (@pmezerette) May 21, 2020

These!! pic.twitter.com/nLElNjPRdE

— Paul Gray (@paulgray74) May 21, 2020

Gotta be this 😍 pic.twitter.com/tlCIl1UyKP

— Tommy Dorr (@tomgetshirty) May 21, 2020

Browse our collection of Juventus shirts here.  

2.  Barcelona football shirts

Kappa were on fire with Barcelona too.  Of course, Barcelona Kappa kits will always have a special place in our hearts.

pic.twitter.com/T5lEOayEww

— 1505 (@1505football) May 21, 2020

pic.twitter.com/rmgY2PToBs

— Fabio Pisanu (@orangeket) May 21, 2020

pic.twitter.com/2SmY824pA4

— 𝕸𝖔𝖓𝖞 𝕿𝖔𝖓𝖙𝖆𝖓𝖆 🅹 (@mohdmustaqimB) May 21, 2020

Browse our collection of Barcelona shirts here.  

3.  Real Betis

The joy of Kappa Real Betis shirts (including one with a hidden secret).  Did you know, the pattern of this Betis shirt is actually comprised of a giant “K” (and a sneaky “a”)? An already stunning shirt just gets better. 

Today I'm going with this because I recently read that the design (that I could never get my head around) is a massive K

I'm assuming the rest would read KAPPA if there was enough room 😅 pic.twitter.com/K1V8IZ15uy

— 👕 Fútbol Threads 👕 (@futbol_threads) May 21, 2020

And basically every Betis Kappa shirt is god-tier.

1995/98. @RealBetis by @KappaSport_ES🤤 pic.twitter.com/EnIKuwh08I

— BetisShirts 💚⚪️ (@BetisShirts) May 21, 2020

pic.twitter.com/WWKQzC0JGW

— James Welham (@jameswelham) May 21, 2020

Browse our collection of Real Betis shirts here.

4.  Roma 

pic.twitter.com/iFJs1QchUp

— Fernando 🥑 (@fertxi14) May 21, 2020

How could we forget about the Kappa years at Roma?  Of course, it helps when players like Batigol and Totti wear your kits.

• Imagine "TOTTI 10 at the back" pic.twitter.com/EHN5Zj4DUo

— Banda (@Banda_Imperium) May 21, 2020

Browse our collection of Roma shirts here.

5.  Ajax 

We might not immediately think of Ajax when it comes to Kappa, but maybe we should.

Ajax for most 86-88 were lit. So tough to make s choice. pic.twitter.com/nugWvylILd

— Christopher (@s_l_christopher) May 21, 2020

Browse our collection of Ajax shirts here.

7.  Manchester City

Let’s not forget about the wonderful Kappa Man City shirts.

pic.twitter.com/AmX7OckwfF

pic.twitter.com/rRyVazQzbB

— Kit of the Day (@KitoftheDay1) May 21, 2020

A partnership which we celebrated in a recent blog.

Browse our collection of Manchester City shirts here.

8. Sampdoria

Any discussion on the greatest shirts wouldn’t be complete without Sampdoria

Sampdoria: https://t.co/iqE9Cf5zB8 pic.twitter.com/8DZLhRpVaP

— Embrace The Margin (@JDEvans75) May 21, 2020

Browse our collection of Sampdoria shirts here.

Read our guide to tell if your kappa shirt is fake or legit.