2023 football retro kits of the year Even in 2023, nostalgia won out

Football is, I believe, a fair mirror of the societies within which it is played. The game contains multitudes. It holds at once the ever-pressing desire to modernise with the misty-eyed yearning to bring back the highlights of generations past. Yet, unlike societies which, when attempting to return to more traditional values, are oftentimes branded as overly conservative and lacking foresight, football is able to uniquely tap into the past whilst persisting daily into the future. 

There are various ways in which clubs can achieve this balancing act between past and future, be it by using a famous face associated with a successful period of the club for a promotional video or interview or, more commonly, by releasing a jersey or collection that pays homage to the design of days gone by. And as 2023 draws to a close, we take a look back at the best throwback jerseys of the year.

Mexico 1985 Adidas Away Fauxback Shirt

Rouges et blancs in name and in deed. Despite failing to maintain its status as the top team in the French league, AS Monaco has always held its own when it comes to football shirts. The Kappa Retro Home Shirt 99/00 is the outstanding example among the jerseys: a jersey with which the Monegasques won their seventh Ligue 1 title.

The iconic Kappa shoulder adds one of the retro details to the diagonally split red and white colour scheme, with the little men marking the boundary between the front and back of the shirt. Along with the iconic Fedcom sponsorship on the chest, it's almost impossible not to imagine David Trezeguet and Marco Simone on the pitch with the Principality's team.