Reebok is returning to the world of football

Every year, the period when football shirts are released is also a time to discover new brands, or in other cases, to see logos and emblems resurface that we thought we had forgotten, at least on a football shirt. This is the case of the Vector, the logo that has been distinguishing Reebok for at least thirty years, one of the oldest companies in the sportswear world if we trace its origins back to the J.W. Foster and Sons founded in the late nineteenth century. However, in recent years, due mainly to the acquisition of adidas in 2005, Reebok had gradually disappeared from football pitches and all team sports, where it had been able to build an aesthetic and reputation over time, thanks to cult shirts and sponsorships of highly relevant athletes. And now that the company, no longer owned by adidas but by Authentic Brands Group, has produced the playing shirts for Botafogo and the Panama National Team, as well as other initiatives that draw on Reebok's archive in the world of sports, one wonders if the brand is really ready for a comeback in a big way.

Reebok has played a prominent role for over two decades in the world of football, from the sponsorship of the naming rights of the Bolton Wanderers stadium, for which it produced the football shirt for twenty years, to jerseys for clubs like Liverpool, Manchester City, Koln, Atletico Madrid and Federations like Argentina, Chile and Colombia. Without obviously forgetting the rare appearances in Italy, on the Fiorentina's jerseys from 1995 to 1997 and Cagliari from 1996 to 1998. Now that heritage that seemed lost forever could return to the spotlight. In the last two seasons, in fact, Reebok has returned to the scene of the crime, namely South American football, where it has produced some of its most iconic collaborations, thus trying to relaunch its image. The home kit for Botafogo released a few days ago for the upcoming season highlights the key details of the Reebok aesthetic, 90s cuts, the two-tone raglan collar, and the zigzag vertical stripes. Similarly, the jerseys made for the Panama National Team follow a classic pattern, also obviously due to limitations for such a small federation, but with an eye on streetwear as in the case of NBA and NFL jerseys from the 00s.

An example of how this aesthetic is still popular today, thanks to the return of vintage and the blokecore phenomenon, and which has made football the main inspiration for the world of fashion. A message that Reebok has shown to have received, as shown by the collaboration with BOTTER, where the highlight are a pair of shoes that play with the shapes and volumes of the cleats taken from some archive in New England. This is also confirmed by Evan Belforti, Footwear Designer for Reebok Special Projects and Collaborations, who, for the launch of the collaboration with the Caribbean Maison, declared that "we always start by immersing ourselves in the Reebok archive, looking for items that resonate with the stories of our collaborators. In this particular case, the BOTTER team expressed great enthusiasm for our archive football silhouettes, as well as for some of our past outdoor and climbing shoes." In this direction, there is also the collaboration with JJJJound, the design studio based in Montreal that remains one of the most appreciated tastemakers on Instagram, to be released soon.

We are just at the beginning of this period when shirt releases overlap at such a speed that we lose count and the shape of the brands and logos used, but Reebok is already in the spotlight for the comeback of the season. After all, the comeback is one of the most beloved tropes in sports, why not apply it to sports brands that have been able to tell an indelible part in the relationship between athletes and fans?