The 2020 AS English football Christmas gift guide: shirts, socks, prints, wine and books...
Once again AS English come to the rescue in solving the issue of what to get the football fanatic in your life with our annual top 10 of the finest footie related gifts.
The James Bond film on Christmas day, tins of Quality Street with the coffee flavoured ones left that no-one likes and that annual Mariah Carey 'holiday album'.....It wouldn't be Christmas without it ! Add the AS English 'football gift guide' to that list as for the fourth consecutive year, we've been busy collating a listing of some of the finest footie-related product to suit every budget.
Gambea Spanish Football socks
Socks are cool!...Thanks to brands such as Happy Socks and Jimmy Lion, socks are now funky and fashionable. Spanish company Gambea have tapped into this niche with a wonderful selection evoking some of the biggest names and clubs from LaLiga and world football...Cristiano, Messi, Megan Rapinoe and official collabs. with the likes of Valencia or Athletic Club.
Available via Gambea.com
AS Roma 2020/21 home shirt
The battle for the AS English shirt of the season was a close fought contests this season with AS Romas's Nike home shirt just pipping the Atletico Madrid (h) and Olympique Marseille (a) efforts by the slenderest of margins. We love it's contemporary look despite being inspired by the shirt from 1978/80.
Available via AS Roma store
Athletic Bilbao San Mames print
Football Stadium Prints is the creation of Scottish graphic designer Steve Stewart, who has moved from illustrating local grounds to now covering iconic grounds from Argentina to Sweden. Athletic Club's new San Mamés is one of his few Spanish club offerings and the use of vivid colours in Stewart's work certain to enhance any living room.
Available via Football Stadium Prints
Against the Elements: The Eruption of Icelandic Football' book
One of our favourite reads of the year took a look at the reasons behind the Iceland football team's remarkable recent achievements. With a population of just 350,000, Iceland stunned the sporting world with Euro 2016 and 2018 World Cup qualification and McGinn's book offers wonderful insight to the phenomenon.
Available now via Pitch Publishing
FC Barcelona facemasks
2020 has been undeniably the year when the covid-19 pandemic affected the world and our way of life. Wearing a face-mask is a key measure against spreading the virus and FC Barcelona have possibly one of the widest selection of styles and designs in LaLiga.
Available via FCBarcelona.com
Borussia Dortmund x Puma trainers
The Bundesliga side is one of the key clubs in the Puma portfolio (along with AC Milan, Marseille, Valencia ...) with the German sports brand launching bespoke Future Rider trainers in the famous BVB yellow and black colours.
Available via Puma
Real Madrid special edition Human Race shirt
Musician and fashion guru, Pharrel Williams was enlisted by Adidas to re-interpret classic shirts for the likes of Bayern, Arsenal, Juventus and Man United. For the Real Madrid release, he used the Yohji Yamamoto 2014/15 shirt as a base for the new 2020/21 creation with the shirt being made from recycled materials to help continue the fight against plastic waste.
Available via RealMadrid.com
Retro football coasters
Whether it's a bottle of imported craft IPA, a glass of Rioja or just a good old fashioned cup of coffee, you'll need a coaster to ensure all surfaces stay smudge free..right? UK based Hally Designs has been producing a series of football related items with the coasters catching our eye with some very smart old school Premier League, Serie A, LaLiga etc. shirts being recreated coaster style. The perfect stocking filler!
Available via Hally Designs
Real Betis Rioja
Gone are the days when football club shops just offer mugs, shirts and key-rings. The Real Betis online store stocks everything from Christmas baubles to a RBB 'neck-tie- for dogs. The club offer a bespoke Rioja (Quiejo y Quiebro) with the gift pack also carrying a Betis branded wine glass to enjoy the Crianza with its 'expressive and elegant' bouquet.
Available via RealBetisBalompie.es
Diego Maradona x Copa t-shirt
The passing of the legendary Argentine in November at the age of 60 was a sad day for football fans across the planet. Maradona has become an icon with his image adorning walls, bars and pizza parlours from New York to Naples. Amsterdam based Copa also carry a fine range of Maradona branded clothes and this t-shirt of El Diego in action vs Belgium (6 vs 10) at the 1986 World Cup is the pick of the bunch.
Available via Copa
