Borussia Dortmund Tips Cap to Club’s ‘Hidden Heroes’ with 2022-23 Third Kit — Plus Other Unveilings from Around Europe

German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund is paying tribute to the club’s “hidden heroes” with their third kit for 2022-23, made by Puma.

The kit was unveiled last week and will be Dortmund’s first-choice home kit for domestic and European cup competitions. It harkens back to the kit the club wore in 1989 when they won the DFB-Pokal with a 4-1 victory over Werder Bremen in the final.

The kit is mostly yellow, with blocks made up of white and black diagonal lines running over each shoulder. The crew neck collar is black. The Puma logo appears in the chest, in the middle of one of the blocks of black lines, in yellow with a black border.

“Borussia Dortmund’s heroes are not always on the pitch, in the public eye and in the newspapers,” the club says on its website. “Dortmund’s heroes are also the people behind the club who contribute to BVB through their actions. They train our young talents, provide security around the games or equip our teams with the right outfits.

“Dortmund’s heroes are the people who give everything for their passion. They live the enthusiasm for football and BVB. Each of them is part of the club and contributes in their own way to making Borussia Dortmund what we are.”

*Ciro M., 52, is one of Borussia Dortmund’s “hidden heroes,” working in the equipment room to provide players with training and match kits. (Courtesy **Borussia Dortmund**)*

The logo of sponsor Evonik adorns the chest. This is a change from Dortmund’s sponsor on its Bundesliga home and away shirts, which is internet provider 1&1.

HERTHA BERLIN – Third

Fellow Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin is throwing back to 1997 to celebrate a huge landmark in the club’s history with their third kit for 2022-23, made by Nike. The predominantly red shirt features two white swoops with black drop shadows on each side, evoking memories of the away kit Hertha wore in 1997 when they were promoted back to the Bundesliga. The swoops continue up onto the sleeves. The flag club crest, which appears on its own on Hertha’s 2022-23 home and away kits, is placed inside a white circle with a blue border.

LEICESTER CITY – Third

Premier League side Leicester City’s third kit for 2022-23, made by Adidas, is a nod to their FA Cup win in 2021. The base of the shirt is white, with a gold wave pattern all over the front. The raglan sleeves and V-neck collar are gold with maroon trim, harkening back to the maroon kits the Foxes wore in the 2021 FA Cup final against Chelsea. The Adidas and sponsor logos are also maroon, and the club crest is rendered in maroon and white.

RAYO VALLECANO – Home, Away and Third

Spanish La Liga side Rayo Vallecano debuted their 2022-23 home kit, made by Umbro, in a preseason friendly against Manchester United on Sunday, July 31. The club’s traditional look remains intact, with a white base and a red lightning bolt, bordered in black, running diagonally across both the front and back. The black V-neck collar features a red insert near the front. The black sleeve cuffs include a pattern of Umbro’s double diamond logo in red.

The away and third kits, released Tuesday, keep the lightning motif going. The away kit (left below) swaps the white for red across the shirt, including the base, the bolt, and the collar and cuff details. The third kit introduces neon green for the bolt, collar and cuffs on a black base. The logo of the front-of-shirt sponsor is printed on in pink.

FC LORIENT – Away

After paying homage to the land with their third kit and the sea with their home kit, French Ligue 1 side FC Lorient takes to the air with its away kit for 2022-23, made by Umbro. The club unveiled the predominantly black kit on Tuesday, August 2, at the Lann Bihoué Naval Airbase. The tonal design of breaking waves on the front of the shirt “highlights the combativeness and strength of the sea waters,” according to the club. The raglan sleeves and collar are solid black.

US SALERNITANA 1919 – Home, Away and Third

Back in July, Italian Serie A side US Salernitana 1919 played a couple of preseason friendlies in what was assumed to be their 2022-23 kits. Turns out those were only preseason kits, and the club unveiled their actual kits for the upcoming season, made by sportswear company Zeus, on July 30.

The home kit is Salernitana’s signature shade of burgundy, with tonal striping across the chest. The collar and sleeve cuffs feature inserts with a darker shade of burgundy, as do inserts on the sides near the hem.

*Courtesy **@OfficialUSS1919** / Twitter*

The away kit is white, again with striping across the chest, but this time in shades of burgundy and bluish-grey. The burgundy inserts on the collar, sleeve cuffs and near the hem carry over from the home shirt.

The third kit is more of a departure, with a solid yellow base and burgundy striping on the front of the shirt that fades in and out and forms right angles. The Y-neck collar is burgundy, with a yellow stripe through the back half. And the sleeve cuffs are also burgundy with a yellow stripe.

EMPOLI FC – Home, Away and Third

Italian Serie A side Empoli FC are getting back to basics with their 2022-23 kits, made by Kappa. The home kit is solid blue all the way around — base, sleeve cuffs, collar, everything. The club crest is placed mid-chest with the Kappa logo on one side and a sponsor logo on the other.

The away kit maintains the simplicity of the home kit, swapping out the blue base for white. The crest remains mid-chest, although with a different sponsor logo on the left chest.

Empoli’s third kit pushes the boat out. The black base features a tonal smoke print all over. The Kappa logos are neon green, while a black-and-grey version of the club crest appears mid-chest.

AC SPEZIA – Home and Away

Fellow Serie A side AC Spezia are also keeping it fairly simple when it comes to their 2022-23 kits, made by Acerbis. The home kit is predominantly white, with the club’s “ACS” monogram on the left chest. The sleeve cuffs, collar and hem all feature pieces of black and white fabric that overlap.

Spezia’s away kit is a straight color swap of the home kit, with black elements changing to white and white elements changing to black.

On the right chest of both shirts is a patch with the Italian flag, the outline of a trophy, and the year 1944. This patch recognizes the club winning the Campionato Alta Italia that year, which was officially recognized as an honorary national championship in 2002. The tournament was organized by the Italian Social Republic and only featured teams from northern and central Italy, as the nation was still divided due to World War II. It is the only permanent tricolour badge allowed by the Italian Football Federation; the scudetto (worn by the defending Serie A champions) and the coccarda (worn by the previous season’s Coppa Italia winners) are worn by different clubs each season.

SL BENFICA – Away and Third

Portuguese Primeira Liga side SL Benfica is taking iconic elements of its home city of Lisbon and incorporating them into its away and third kits for 2022-23, made by Adidas. The yellow away kit features a tonal pattern of irregular triangles that are inspired both by “reflected sunsets” and by the electric trams that transport people through the city. The Adidas shoulder stripes, club crest and sponsor logos are all black. A small logo depicting one of the city’s trams appears on the back collar.

Meanwhile, the pattern of grey parallelograms on Benfica’s white third kit is inspired by the stone pavement of Lisbon, “a maximum symbol of our culture,” according to the club. The V-neck collar is grey with red trim, and the Adidas shoulder stripes and sponsor logos appear in red. A full-colour club crest sits on the left chest.

CELTIC FC – Third

Defending Scottish Premiership champions Celtic FC take inspiration from their home ground, Celtic Park, for their 2022-23 third kit, made by Adidas. The shirt is predominantly a greenish-grey (“Clear Onyx,” as the club puts it) with neon yellow (“Pulse Yellow”) shoulder stripes and a black crew neck collar. The sleeve cuffs are black, with a geometric outline of Celtic Park in the Glasgow landscape woven into the fabric. The sponsor logo appears in neon yellow bordered in black, and the club crest is rendered in grey and yellow, with a black border.