Better or Worse? Nike Italy 1998 World Cup Prototype Kits Revealed

Twitter user Joseph Lanza has shared an image of prototype versions of Italy's 1998 World Cup kits, showing how a seemingly innocuous change can make a big difference to the overall aesthetic.

Nike Italy 1998 Prototype Shirts

Nike's brief tenure as kit supplier to Italy produced some great shirts and some even better training and travel gear. Gli Azzurri's World Cup campaign in 1998 was the final tournament outing with Nike at the helm, and they decided to play it safe with a pair of no nonsense - although they were shiny - kits, blue with minimal white trim for the home and the inverse for the away.

The accent colour was used sparingly in each case, with just the cuffs, piping on the hemline and inner section of the collar contrasting with the base. It could have been different however, as the prototype designs in photo above show. The inside of the collar opening and the hemline piping were set on dark navy strips, while the cuffs themselves were also navy, tipped with white. This additional colouring is even more noticeable on the away shirt. The interior of the Swoosh was also navy in both cases.

The prototypes show replica versions of the kit complete with Swooshes, although Italy famously played in logo-free shirts until 1999, when Kappa took over from Nike and became the first manufacturer to have their logo grace the national team's shirts on the pitch.

In the end, the simpler two tone options were chosen. The Italian FA were very skeptical of the white collar on Nike's first home shirt for them in 1995, while they permitted some more white and gold details in 1996, but it seems they wanted at least one strictly traditional set of kits from the American brand.

Do you think Italy and Nike made the right choice in going with the plainer versions? Or do you prefer the added trim? Comment below.