Azerbaijan Away 2011

 

Azerbaijan team lining up before a match

 

Flag of Azerbaijan

First international: Georgia 6-3 Azerbaijan (1993)

Biggest win: Azerbaijan 4-0 Liechtenstein (1999)

Biggest loss: France 10-0 Azerbaijan (1995)

Most capped: Rashad Sadygov (85 caps)

Top scorer: Gurban Gurbanov (14 goals)

Star player: Rashad Sadygov (FK Qarabag)

Azerbaijan have been playing football since 1927 but back then they were part of the Soviet Union. It was until 1991 that Azerbaijan gained independence and then in 1992 the Azerbaijani Football Association was formed. Then in 1994 they were finally granted into FIFA and UEFA meaning they could compete in the qualification rounds for the World Cup and European Championships. To this day they have not managed to though or even come close to qualification. 

 In February 2004 Azerbaijan appointed the 1970 Brazilian World Cup winning captain Carlos Alberto as their manager and started with a 6-0 loss to Israel. But despite this they managed to get their first ever away win with a 3-2 victory over Kazakhstan. Then following a 8-0 defeat to Poland, Michael Owen stated that he could even score 5 goals against Azerbaijan. He didn't as England only won the game 2-0 and it caused Carlos Alberto to say 'Owen does not deserve a guy like me talking about him. He's a midget'. Things did not get much better for Alberto as he resigned in 2005 after a 3-0 loss to Poland. Then in 2008, former Scotland manager Berti Vogts took charge of Azerbaijan and remains there till this day. Out of 4 games so far they have drawn 2 and lost 2 in the qualification for the World Cup so I would not expect to see them at Brazil in 2014.

 But did you know an Azerbaijani has played a massive part in a World Cup final before? Well the linesman that awarded the goal against Germany in the 1966 World Cup final for England was from Azerbaijan. Whether it went over the line or not is another question. 

 Credit to my German friend Sascha for finding the shirts from the city of Baku. You can view his blog by clicking here.

http://mynationalteamcollection.blogspot.co.uk/

Nigeria Home 1994

First international: Sierra Leone 0-2 Nigeria (1949)

Biggest win: Nigeria 10-1 Benin (1959)

Biggest loss: Ghana 7-0 Nigeria (1955)

Most capped: Joseph Yobo (88 caps)

Top scorer: Rashidi Yekini (37 goals)

Star player: Peter Odemwingie (West Brom) 


This kit is from the 1994 World Cup where Nigeria made their first appearance. They faired well in the 1994 World Cup as they topped their group which set up a tie against Italy. They took the lead in that game and was within 2 minutes of qualifying before Roberto Baggio scored a goal which took the game into extra time. Baggio then won the match by scoring a second in extra time. They returned again in 1998 and again managed to get through the group stage before losing 4-1 to Denmark. Again they returned for the World Cup in 2002 but they could not get through the group stages this time. They failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup before returning to the World Cup in 2010. They could of possibly qualified if Yakubu could score an open goal but he somehow missed it. YouTube Yakubu miss if you do not know what I am talking about.
 Nigeria have won the African Nations in 1980 and 1994 but have not faired too good recently. Maybe they can win the 2013 tournament?

Palestine Home 2002

 

 

Flag of Palestine

First international: Egypt 8-1 Palestine (1953)

Biggest win: Palestine 11-0 Guam (2006)

Biggest loss: Egypt 8-1 Palestine (1953)

Most caps: Ramzi Saleh (74 caps)

Top scorer: Fahed Attal (14 goals)

Star player: Fahed Attal (Shabab Al-Khaleel)

These Palestine shirts are made by a Chilean sports brand called Training. Palestinian football has quite a big connection with Chile because in 2002 the manager they appointed grew up in Chile and had connections within the Santiago Palestinian community and he bought a few Palestinians from Chile into the squad. 

Mahmoud Al-Sarsak was kidnapped by Israel in 2009 and imprisoned for three years without trial. He went on a hunger strike for three months in protest over his imprisonment, risking death and likely ruining his promising future in football. After considerable international pressure on his behalf, including FIFA President Sepp Blatter, the Israeli military was forced to release him in 2012. 

The problems the Palestinian team face to play matches is huge with the on going conflict with the Isreali's. Facilities have been destroyed and I believe they have to play their home matches in a different country due to safety issues.

Niger Home 2011

 

 

Flag of Niger

First international: Nigeria 1-0 Niger (1963)

Biggest win: Niger 7-1 Mauritania (1990)

Biggest loss: Niger 1-9 Ghana (1969)

Star player: Moussa Maazou (Etoile Du Sahel)

Niger had never qualified for a major tournament until the 2012 African Nations Cup. If you watched the tournament you would of seen Niger wore Errea shirts for the first match before reverting back to Tovio shirts which are the ones in the picture. I am not sure why this happened but unless you know your shirts then you probably did not even notice it. Niger in a group of South Africa, Egypt and Sierra Leone shocked everyone by topping the group and qualifying for the 2011 African Nations Cup before going out in the group. They will also be participating in upcoming after scoring two late goals to win 2-0 and go through 2-1 on aggregate against Guinea.

You can get the shirt here
 http://www.footballshirtworld.co.uk/shop/caf/niger-home-white-shirt.html

Niger Away 2011

 

 

Flag of Niger

First international: Nigeria 1-0 Niger (1963)

Biggest win: Niger 7-1 Mauritania (1990)

Biggest loss: Niger 1-9 Ghana (1969)

Star player: Moussa Maazou (Etoile Du Sahel)

Niger had never qualified for a major tournament until the 2012 African Nations Cup. If you watched the tournament you would of seen Niger wore Errea shirts for the first match before reverting back to Tovio shirts which are the ones in the picture. I am not sure why this happened but unless you know your shirts then you probably did not even notice it. Niger in a group of South Africa, Egypt and Sierra Leone shocked everyone by topping the group and qualifying for the 2011 African Nations Cup before going out in the group. They will also be participating in upcoming after scoring two late goals to win 2-0 and go through 2-1 on aggregate against Guinea.

You can get the shirt here
http://www.footballshirtworld.co.uk/shop/caf/niger-away-green-shirt.html

Santos Away 2012

The away shirt of the Brazilian side Santos. Famous for being the team that Pele scored over 1,000 goals for and the player on the back of the shirt Neymar is probably the closest they will ever get to finding another Pele. I'd expect a big side to come in and sign him soon though.

Shanghai Shenhua Home 2011

Shanghai Shenhua seem to be the Chinese big spenders of the footballing world now. After shocking everyone and signing Nicolas Anelka from Chelsea they became more known to football fans all over the world and it was Nicolas Anelka's promotion to player manager which supposedly did the trick in bringing Didier Drogba to Shanghai Shenhua, either that or the massive wages he will receive whilst playing for them.