Cult Icons: We gave XI iconic shirts FIFA 23 ratings

Another year, another FIFA.

Since 1993 EA have been producing this beauty. Millions of sweaty goals. Millions of Ultimate Teams. Thousands of Facebook apologies. It felt fitting that we paid tribute to what could be the final FIFA game between EA & FIFA themselves.

We know a tonne of advanced analytics goes into the rating of FIFA 23 players. Motion monitoring, dynamic examinations, style & technique replication. The footy boffins at EA then crunch all the numbers and give each player a stat for PAC, SHO, PAS, DRI, DEF PHY and an overall player rating. 

Well being experts in the kit game, we thought it was only fair XI iconic shirts got a FIFA 23 rating and their own FIFA shirt card. But we've made up our own scoring.

We'll be scoring the shirts based on SPO (Sponser), COL (Colour), BAD (Badge), MAN (Manufacture), NAM (Name font), TRO (Trophies won). Those stats will contribute to an overall shirt score, just like the player cards. 

We've picked XI of the most iconic shirts ever, selecting from a range of clubs, leagues & countries. FIFA fans, there might be some FUT kit inspo in here... Lets get stuck into it.

Holland 1988 Home Kit

We said iconic. It's a crying shame that FIFA wasn't around in 1988 because this would have been the most popular FUT kit by a country mile. We've rated the Holland home a 92, with particularly impressive stats for the colour and the manufacturer template - look at those chevrons and collar - oof!

West Germany 1990 Home Kit

Is there a more famous pattern in football kit history? The red, yellow and black accents that have adorned many German home shirts combine to their greatest effect here. This is a stone cold icon. Still looks good today.

We've given this a FIFA rating of 90, with the strong points being that classic German badge and the killer colour combos. 

Man Utd 1990 Away Kit

Chevrons played a big role in 90's footy shirts, this United away piece is no exception. This went hard in the 90's and is still an incredibly popular shirt in 2022, we see it out on the streets all the time.

We scored the United '90 away highly for its manufacturer template and for the naming font, which is striking. The Sharp sponsor is iconic but that would be our only area for improvement. FIFA, if you're listening, bring this Cult Kits icon into the '23 game! We could see this being popular in FUT.

Arsenal 1991 Away Kit

The bruised banana kit and it doesn't really get much better. The colouring on this kit is truly out of this world, we're still totally sure how Adidas designed it. The 'bruised' effect comes form the intertwining of yellow and black chevrons, creating such a unique template that it's been a tough act to follow ever since.

Manufacturer score has to be high here, given Adidas broke the mould for this one. The colouring score speaks for itself but also a notable mention for the sponsor, that JVC is straight up clean. 

Fiorentina 1998/99 Home Kit

One for the die-hard kit fans. This beauty often goes under the radar on lists of iconic kits but for us it's an absolute winner. The Nintendo sponsor has to be one of the greatest kit sponsors of all time, no cap. That's why we've given the SPO score a stonking 93.

COL also ranks highly, with 90. Fiorentina have always owned this Royal Purple so well and it's rare to see across the big leagues. Again, FIFA, bring this one back as a FUT icon, it would do absolute bits. 

Barcelona 1999-2000 Home Kit

The two-tone, split design makes the unique Barca home a staple on any iconic shirt list. We gave this beauty a 92 rating and for good reason. Worn by the likes of Luis Figo, this set the bar for Nike x Barcelona for years to come.

Amazingly, the TRO score for this shirt is 0. Barca ended the 1999/2000 season empty-handed, without any silverware. 

Chelsea - 2003/05 Home Kit

The Frankie Lampard uniform this one. Lampard and co made some fond memories in this shirt but it's the clean & sharp design from Umbro that sees it included in our Cult Icons list. 

The manufacturer score is rightly 90, for keeping this bold, punchy and simple. Umbro new how to deliver quality and this set the benchmark for future Chelsea clobber. 

Nigeria - 2018 Home Kit

A modern classic, simply one of the most creative shits ever made. This came in a season where shirts were formulaic, repetitive and predictable. This shirt made national newspaper headlines for how outrageously good it was. That's why we've given it a 95 overall rating. 

The badge doesn't get the recognition it deserves and the chevrons are such a throwback to everything great about 90's shirts. Nike peaked here. 

France - 2011/12 Away Kit

Sometimes a kit emerges from a social media storm and you have to just sit-up and take notice. This is the most French, France shirt ever made. The Breton stripe, a symbol of France, actually made its way onto a full away strip. And boy, does it look good.

This shirt scores highly for MAN and COL because Nike had the coverage to break the mould and deliver a shirt that cut through the rest. A favourite on FIFA 2012, too.

Juventus 2015-16 Away Kit

A bolt of pink but its not just the colour that makes this away shirt iconic. The combination of the pure-pink, classy detailing and one of the coolest sponsors going made this shirt a collectors item. SPO gets 90 here for that outrageously good JEEP logo which would frankly elevate most shirts. Some sponsors just do the job.

Juventus were at the peak of their powers this season, taking home 3 trophies. A fitting tribute to this absolute piece. We know for a fact this shirt did the rounds on FUT back in FIFA 16.  

Venezia 2021-22 Away Kit

Simply gorgeous and we look forward to seeing this Venezia kit rinsed throughout FIFA 23 on every FUT out there. Just look at it. The band of orange and green hue, the signature Kappa logo, detailing on the badge and the rounded collar. Its like a perfect Italian tiramisu, layers of goodness. That's why we've rated it 95.

Which Cult Icon would you use on your FIFA team?

This is partly an article to pay tribute to 30 years of FIFA but also a petition to get FIFA to bring back some of these iconic shirts for gamers to use in FUT. We've love to see a United 90 or a Holland 88 being donned by players of today. 

Do you agree with our ratings? Which shirt is your favourite?

Let us know on Twitter

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