Turkish giants Besiktas had another disappointing season last term, as they finished fourth in the league, 17 behind eventual winners Galatasaray.
As they look to reset and rebuild after five seasons without a league trophy, a change in kit manufacturers, with the new deal generating substantial money, can be seen as a good start.
That is exactly what Besiktas have done, ending a 17 year relation with Adidas and signing a new contract with Nike for the next five seasons.
Club president Serdal Adalı announced the deal will see them earn €2.6 million per year, and as per reports it has been paid upfront for five years in full.
This comes as a big financial booster for a club in debt, especially considering the fact that it had to cover its annual kit expenses of €2.5 million themselves under the previous contract.
However despite the kit sponsorship deal being a big boon for the club, the fans are not happy and it all comes down to the team’s jersey design, particularly the away jersey.
It has a striped design with the upper half dominated by thick, prominent vertical black stripes and at the bottom exactly the opposite, white stripes vertical stripes dominate.
The two are intertwined by a solid diagonal cut centrally which immediately brought back memories of a jersey that has a special place in football history and fans’ memory.
The design pattern exactly matched that of Barcelona’s iconic 2011-12 season where the Catalan club won four trophies including the Champions League under Pep Guardiola with only difference being the colors of the kits.
While it is not uncommon for brands to reuse templates across different teams, bringing back such a specific and memorable design from over a decade ago has drawn significant attention on social media.
Even the iconic swoosh, which represents Nike’s identity, in the new Besiktas away jersey gets lost due the similar color palette used for it.
Fans are visibly angry with it and they showcased their disappointment and frustration through social media. One wrote on his social media, ‘Why? I’m seriously asking, why? Is it really that hard to design a proper, decent, cool-looking uniform?’
Some simply believe that AI could have done a better job designing the kits, others simply blame the management for allowing it.
While others question the choice of picking Nike as the kit partner, indicating that their jerseys have not been up to par for any clubs in the recent past.
Well to Nike’s defense, it can be said that the deal was so last minute, that they did not have proper time to design and make designs that aligned with Besiktas’ identity and make the jersey stand out.
The fact that this jersey deal was struck very late can be justified by the sheer fact that the Adidas Besiktas new season jerseys were already leaked before the whole deal got cancelled.
But for now while Besiktas fans have to bear with jersey for a season, they will hope that a change in kit suppliers can bring a change in their fortune.
