Supporters of German Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart weren’t having it when their club debuted a new jersey on the pitch over the weekend.
In their home match against Werder Bremen on Saturday, December 2, Stuttgart wore their new black-and-white special edition jerseys for the first time — a drastic break from their usual white home kit with a red band across the chest.
Supporters group Commando Cannstatt didn’t take too kindly to the move, displaying a banner that read: “WAS HAT DIESE HÄSSLICHE UND TEURE SCHEISSE MIT EINEM VfB-TRIKOT ZU TUN?” (“What does this ugly and expensive sh*t have to do with a VfB jersey?”)
The jersey in question was unveiled by the club in late November and designed in collaboration with renowned Esslingen artist Tim Bengel. “The black and white pattern corresponds to the cross section of a Filderkraut head, the superfood grown in our region and which is repeatedly used in Bengel’s works,” VfB’s website reads.
“For the first time there is not just one version of the jersey. If you look closely, you will discover that the pattern is not the same on every specimen. Instead, there are five jersey variations of the design, taken from different parts of a larger image. Football and art are combined in a unique way.”
A black band runs across the front, with “STUTTGART” spelled out in white inside and “ART” in bold type. The VfB crest and logo of manufacturer Jako are gold. The raglan sleeves are solid black, with circles on the shoulders that are a trademark of Jako’s designs.
Contributing to the Commando Connstatt’s disgruntlement at the jerseys is their selling pieces. Limited to a run of 1,893 shirts (a nod to the year of VfB’s founding), the shirts were selling for an eye-watering €189.30 — more than double what their 2023-24 home and away kits sell for (€84.99).
The supporters couldn’t grumble about the final score, though, as VfB defeated Werder Bremen 2-0. And they were back in their regular white home kit on Wednesday, December 6, when they beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the DFB-Pokal round of 16.
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