My sister just came back from Madrid. I asked her to get me an authentic Kaka Real Madrid jersey. The jersey is the same one that the players wear for home games. The Real Madrid emblem and other patches are stitched on, as expected. However, the “Kaka” name on the back and the number 8 are ironed on. Does anyone know if the jersey that the players actually wear is the same. I would have expected that the name and number would also be stitched on.
Edit: Perhaps they’re not ironed on, but they are definitely not raised like the other emblems.
I’m not 100% sure, but I think most names are indeed ironed on. The way the shirts are prepared in the official shops, is that you take the shirt and tell the salesperson what name you want to have on it (you can also choose your own name or anything else you fancy); then they go in the back in put it on through some machine and it will definately not feel stitched on (like the official emblems). Again that is how I recall seeing it being done, not 100% sure.
Thanks. The only authentic jerseys that I’ve bought in the past are either MLB or NFL jerseys. For these, all the names and numbers are stitched in. I guess its different for European football.
They don’t really have the “authentic” and “replica” distinctions for European sports merchandise. The one you’ve got with the screen-printed numbers is the same one Kaka’s got (lots of).
The name and numbers are put in at the store, yes. They are a kind of iron-on that doesn’t peel off easily, but they still wear off faster than the rest of the shirt. But that’s how it’s done on the real shirts as well.
One last thing you can do to make sure the jersey itself is official: check for the Santiago Bernabeu (that’s Madrid’s home grounds, named after the legendary President that built them) logo on the on the right chest side – it’s embroidered in white thread and it’s new this year. If so, you have the official Adidas product albeit with dodgy numbers.
If you plan on collecting jerseys like I do, I suggest you don’t fall for the extra money for the imprint. Other than Raul (7) Iker (1) and Guti (14) numbers don’t last long at Madrid.
The shirt has the crest. I guess whoever put the number on didn’t have the right numbers. I just checked again and the actual 8 is a different shape than the real one. Oh well. Maybe I’ll gift it.
