So I’ve always been fascinated by football jerseys, especially ones from countries that don’t get much spotlight. The other day, someone asked me about Venezuela’s kits – and man, I realized I barely knew anything beyond their current design. That got me digging into decades of their team fashion.
My Initial Research Hunt
Started simple: googled “Venezuela football kits through years”. Got flooded with current merch stores selling the same 2023 design. Useless. Tried adding “historical” to the search, still got mainly Adidas’ recent templates. Remembered seeing old photos of them wearing burgundy instead of today’s wine red, so I shifted tactics. Went straight to football kit archive sites but kept hitting paywalls wanting subscriptions.
Social Media Deep Dive
Decided to hunt real fans who collect this stuff. Scrolled through Venezuelan football hashtags on Twitter for hours. Found this one dude posting grainy Polaroids from 1980s matches! Almost cried seeing those collars. Messaged him begging for more pics. Meanwhile, joined three vintage jersey collector groups on Facebook. Asked: “Who’s got pre-2000 Venezuela kits?” People started DMing me dusty closet finds:
- That wild 1993 sash design looking like a ripped cocktail napkin
- The cursed 2006 checkered pattern that hurt your eyes
- Early 70s polyester nightmares with flapping collars
Putting The Puzzle Together
Hauled everything into a folder – blurred Instagram stories, scanned magazine pages, even cellphone pics of newspaper clippings people mailed me. Biggest headache? Dating them right. Had to cross-reference tiny details like badge changes against World Cup qualification years. Like that time they used golden trim only during 2007 Copa América. Nearly missed it!
Organized everything chronologically from 1967 onward. Was shocked how much their colors shifted from maroon to crimson based on sponsors. Noticed manufacturers kept slapping generic templates on them until Vinotinto’s identity crisis ended around 2017. That’s when designs finally got uniquely Venezuelan.
Final Presentation
Couldn’t just dump screenshots. Made comparison slides showing design evolution side-by-side. Highlighted my personal favorites: that 1993 burgundy beauty and the 2021 “hexagonal pattern” homage to traditional weaving. Best part? A collector in Caracas sent me snaps of his grandfather’s 1959 homemade jersey – literally hand-stitched wool. Added it as a bonus “unofficial” relic. The whole project? Took over three weeks. But seeing how Venezuela turned boring templates into cultural statements? Totally worth the hunt.