Chelsea vs Spurs. A filthy derby. A proper cruncher.
There’s no love lost between these two London giants. Any Spurs fan worth their salt will remember THAT Hazard goal which derailed Spurs' title bid in 15/16. The Hazard knee-slide to celebrate? Salt in the wounds.
But no football fan can deny that Chelsea have been a power-house in English football since 2003. Whilst Spurs have been going places with their squad, stadium and global brand - the silverware has been lacking.
What they can both claim is absolutely banging kits over the years. We’ve pulled together a selection of their iconic kits since 1994, pitting them head-to-head. There’s even a cheeky ULTIMATE third-kit face off, read to the end...
Chelsea vs Spurs - who’s had the better kits?
94/95 Chelsea 'away' vs Spurs 'away'
We’re starting with two absolute grails, two head-turners. Umbro dominated English football in the 90’s and they were arguably at the peak of their powers here. Chelsea actually wore this from 94 through to 96, shirts back then had a longer shelf life.
We’ve seen Chelsea revisit the orange & grey colourway in recent years but this is where it all began. Chelsea edges this one for us.
[Shop 94/95 Chelsea Away] 🏆
[Shop 95/95 Spurs Away]
Running score in kit head-to-head - Chelsea 1 - 0 Spurs
99/00 Chelsea 'home' vs Spurs 'home'
We’re in ‘99 now, everyone’s panicking about the millennium bug and Spurs are releasing this absolute fire from Adidas. Chelsea have stuck with Umbro and brought in sponsors Autoglass, it's a clean look.
But this Spur’s shirt is iconic, the collar is on the money and the three-stripes on the sleeves set an Adidas template for years to come. You can just picture David Ginola turning a left-back inside-out wearing this. Spurs win this round.
[99/00 Spurs Home] 🏆
[99/00 Chelsea Home]
Running score in kit head-to-head - Chelsea 1 - 1 Spurs
05/06 Chelsea 'away' vs Spurs 'away'
We jump a few years to 2005 now, an era of the Premier league where the traditional big 4 (Chelsea, United, Liverpool & Arsenal) were dominating. Chelsea went on to win the league, their second in two years under a certain Mr Mourinho. The Blues had shaken up the Sir Alex Ferguson reign.
For us, the Chelsea shirt takes this round. It’s the first Chelsea away shirt with the Samsung sponsorship, immortalised by the ridiculous wealth of talent that pulled it on. Think Droga, Lampard, Terry, Robben, Crespo, Makelele and more. Chelsea wins.
[05/06 Chelsea Away] 🏆
[Shop 05/06 Spurs Away]
Running score in kit head-to-head - Chelsea 2 - 1 Spurs
08/09 Chelsea 'home' vs Spurs 'home'
We landed in 2008, the world is reeling from the financial crash and silverware is still hard to come by at White-Hart Lane 😅. Chelsea managed to add another FA Cup to their collection, under the stewardship of Gus Hiddink.
These two shirts embody everything about modern day Chelsea & Spurs, we’re seeing design cues that stand the test of time. It’s a close call here, the early Puma shirts looked sharp but the yellow trim, collar and three-stripes were just killer on the royal blue of Chelsea. Chelsea score, Drogba at the back-post.
[Shop 08/09 Chelsea Home] 🏆
[Shop 08/09 Spurs Home]
Running score in kit head-to-head - Chelsea 3 - 1 Spurs
10/11 Chelsea 'away' vs Spurs 'away'
We told you the orange would be back. We’re in 2010 now and this is the first time since that famous ‘94 Umbro shirt that Chelsea have slapped orange on their away look. Spurs are back at it with the sky-blue, a sharp Puma shirt that saw Champions League minutes.
Despite this being a trophyless campaign for Chelsea, the resurrection of the orange & grey colourway here is killer. The micro-chevron detailing down the front is ‘chefs-kiss’. Chelsea pulling away here.
[Shop 10/11 Chelsea Away] 🏆
[10/11 Spurs Away]
Running score in kit head-to-head - Chelsea 4 - 1 Spurs
13/14 Chelsea 'home' vs Spurs 'home'
This was a big year for Spurs, kits-wise. After 6 years of Puma, Spurs moved across to Under Armour in 12/13, the kit-makers first big foray into English football. This 13/14 iteration was UA’s second outing for the Lillywhites combining with a striking HP sponsor logo. For Chelsea, it's more of the same with Adidas, Samsung & Lampard delivering devastating consistency.
We’re going out on a limb here with a controversial take, the collar detailing on the Spurs home is clean and the HP sponsor is one of the smartest from this era. Spurs pull one back.
[13/14 Spurs Home] 🏆
[Shop 13/14 Chelsea Home]
Running score in kit head-to-head - Chelsea 4 - 2 Spurs
15/16 Chelsea 'away' vs Spurs 'away'
This was a monumental year in Prem history, with Leicester City’s title win being one of football’s fairy-tale stories. For Chelsea, these were darker days. No silverware, Mourinho sacked and a 10th place league finish. Spurs were flying, they pushed Leicester all the way to the title and finished 3rd, with some stylish football played along the way.
Unfortunately for Spurs though, there’s only one winner here. Chelsea may have had a disappointing season but this away shirt is cold. The clean collar detailing, the Yokohama Tyres red logo, the crisp three stripes blue on white. Chelsea hit top-bins from distance.
[15/16 Chelsea Away] 🏆
[15/16 Spurs Away]
Running score in kit head-to-head - Chelsea 5 - 2 Spurs
18/19 Chelsea 'home' vs Spurs 'home'
Two Nike kits here. Both clubs had swapped over to Nike designs the year before, in 2017, and were now finessing. 18/19 season saw both Chelsea & Spurs finish inside the top 4 with Chelsea winning the Europa League.
This was a period of dominance for Nike in the English top-flight, producing 3/4 of the Prem’s top 4 club kits. For us, the Spurs template is superior, we’re especially keen on the gradient finish. Spurs score.
[18/19 Spurs Home] 🏆
[Shop 18/19 Chelsea Home]
Running score in kit head-to-head - Chelsea 5 - 3 Spurs
21/22 Chelsea 'away' vs Spurs 'away'
Things got LOUD for Spurs & Chelsea in 2021. Chelsea have always loved a yellow away kit but this piece from Spurs is an absolute wild-card, you’ve got to cast the clock way-back to find a Tottenham shirt as wild as this.
For us, the Spurs tie-dye gumball effect is too much, it's an attack on the eyeballs. We’ve heard it labelled a ‘monstrosity’ but we wouldn’t go that far. Chelsea away is a thing of beauty, a deeper yellow than the fluorescent nonsense of earlier years, with clean black lines and that Three sponsor is fire. Chelsea win again.
[Shop 21/22 Chelsea Away] 🏆
[21/22 Spurs Away]
Running score in kit head-to-head - Chelsea 6 - 3 Spurs
22/23 Chelsea 'home' vs Spurs 'home'
Maybe we have a hankering for the 90’s but this season’s Spurs & Chelsea kits are missing the magic of 94/95, the collars just aren’t the same levels.
Speaking of collars, the Chelsea one is questionable here, very questionable. We’re not massive fans of the design. Spurs edge it.
[22/23 Spurs Home] 🏆
[22/23 Chelsea Home]
Running score in kit head-to-head - Chelsea 6 - 4 Spurs
ULTIMATE THIRD KIT BONUS MATCH
01/02 Chelsea Third vs 94/95 Spurs Third
Now, a tasty little bonus round. We couldn’t look at Spurs & Chelsea since 1994 without surfacing their finest third-kit wares. The years have gone out the window here, we’ve looked back on every third-kit since 1994 and picked our favourite.
For Chelsea we’ve gone for the 01/02 Third, worn by the famous Desailly & Dennis Wise. This was peak 90’s Umbro, the long-sleeves, the blue & yellow. A stunner. For Spurs, the 94/96 Third (which was actually worn from 91-96) an Adidas gem and a total grail. The ‘Spurs’ detailing on the back, within the fine stripes, is on another level. Spurs win it.
[Shop 94/95 Spurs Third Kit] 🏆
[Shop 01/02 Chelsea Third Kit]
Final score in kit head-to-head - Chelsea 6 - 5 Spurs
Chelsea vs Spurs - who had the best kits?
According to our maths, Chelsea edge it with a 6-5 victory over Spurs in the best kits since 1994. What do you think, did we get it right? Any other kits you would feature?
Let us know on Twitter:
#Chelsea vs #Spurs - who’s had the better kits? 🥶
— Cult Kits (@cultkits) August 10, 2022
We put them head-to-head 👇https://t.co/85yousQHre
--------------------------------------
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR EMAIL
RECEIVE EXCLUSIVE DROPS OF THE WORLDS GREATEST CLASSIC KITS