History of Brasil's Yellow Jersey
Brasil's famous yellow jersey - called 'Amerelinha' or 'Little Yellow One' - is recognizable all over the world.
Add blue shorts and white socks and you have all four colors of the Brasilian flag.
What you may or may not know is they haven't always worn yellow. In fact, the team's current colors were first worn in 1954. They won zero World Cups before the change and five since. Coincidence?
Here's the story behind one of the most recognizable kits in soccer...
The 1950 World Cup
It all began with millions of broken hearts.
Brasil hosted the 1950 World Cup but lost 2-1 in the final to Uruguay. They were wearing plain and unpatriotic kits: white shirts with blue collars, white shorts, and white socks.
After the loss, things had to change, including the team colors.
Competition to design the new kit
In 1953, a national newspaper launched a competition to design Brasil's new kits. The rules stated the kit must include all four colors of Brasil's flag: green, yellow, blue and white.
Alydr Garcia Schee, an 18-year-old newspaper illustrator, won with a simple, and now iconic, design.
A yellow shirt with green around the collar, blue shorts, and white socks.
In 1954, Brasil played in their new colors for the first time. They beat Chile 1-0 at the Maracana.
The 1958 World Cup
Four years later, Brasil won the World Cup for the first time...wearing blue.
They wore yellow during the tournament, but they faced the hosts, Sweden, in the final who also wear yellow.
It didn't take long for them to win their second World Cup. The year was 1962, and this time they won in yellow.
The 1970 World Cup
The 1970 World Cup in Mexico was the first to be broadcast in color TV.
The world finally got to see the country's yellow jerseys, and Brasil won the tournament for the 3rd time.
The Nike deal
In 1996, Brasil signed a deal with Nike. Nike has designed and manufactured all of Brasil's kits ever since...
France 1998
Brasil's jersey for the 1998 World Cup was all about the crewneck and iconic shoulder stripes.
Korea/Japan 2002
For the 2002 World Cup, the Brasilians wore a lighter, more youthful shade of yellow called 'bright lemon.'
Germany 2006
Clean and simple. The Mandarin style collar was a bit different and fresh.
South Africa 2010
Back to the basics. The simple, "t-shirt style" 2010 jersey reflected back to the 1970s - the golden era of Brasilian soccer.
Brasil 2014
Sticking to both Brasilian and Nike tradition, the 2014 World Cup jersey was simple in design, but not in innovation.
Russia 2018
For the 2018 World Cup kit, Nike designers matched the yellow to what was worn in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. It's called Samba Gold.
Do you think Brasil will win their 6th World Cup this summer in Russia?
