The 2. Bundesliga season kicks off tonight with Kaiserslautern vs Hannover 96 a true clash of the giants, somehow the summer break has seemed even longer this summer hasn’t it?
We all love kits and the second tier in Germany has some outstanding kits again this season so time for editor Daniel Pinder and Borussia Dortmund correspondent Ben McFadyean to take on the tricky task of rating the home kits of all the 18 teams in the league, all ratings out of 10.
Arminia Bielefeld
https://twitter.com/arminia/status/1537497008260452352
Dan: 5/10 – I mean, it’s OK? But last season’s was certainly better.
Ben: 6/10 – Macron does some top kits and last season’s black, white and blue striped Arminia was a ‘keeper’ but this season, not feeling it. Come on Macron, get inspired by the spirit of the great fans of the ‘Alm’!
Darmstadt
Derselbe Teamgeist. Dieselbe Motivation. Dasselbe Feuer. Im neuen Gewand. #sv98
— SV Darmstadt 98 (@sv98) May 21, 2022
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Heimtrikot 22/23: https://t.co/JWQZ24SCro pic.twitter.com/sYxypkiAvu
Dan: 3/10 – Admittedly not a fan of this. The badge is nice but other than that, it doesn’t do anything for me.
Ben: 4/10 – Craft is a new brand to me, not seen this before. The contrast in blues is kind of cool but overall not liking this in spite of the striped panel in the middle which is repeated on the away but not the goalkeeper shirt. Overall not my cuppa!
Eintracht Braunschweig
https://twitter.com/EintrachtBSNews/status/1544648511681187840
Dan: 3/10 – Not a fan of kits with a design like this. Borussia Dortmund tried and it just didn’t look right. It’s too ‘in your face’ for my liking.
Ben: 5/10 – For the Eintracht Braunschweig Puma kit this season, too much like the BVB shirt of 20/21. Great to see the 1966 Meister back in the league though.
Fortuna Düsseldorf
https://twitter.com/f95/status/1542411360402898944
Dan: 7/10 – Now this is nice. The shade of red, the stripes. I can’t remember the last time Fortuna had a bad design.
Ben: 6/10 – I’m usually a big fan of Adidas kits and there is something of the Liverpool kits of the 1970’s in this season’s home kit but in spite of having the coolest coach in Daniel Thioune, the two time DFB Pokal winners home kit this season is not lighting my fire!
Greuther Fürth
https://twitter.com/kleeblattfuerth/status/1533410124517318661
Dan: 6/10 – An improvement on last season’s, but it still doesn’t pack a punch for me. At least it’s different from the other 2. Bundesliga clubs, though.
Ben: 9/10 – A high rating by me for Puma’s home kit but then the Irish side of me says a shamrock and classic green and white stripes, what can you actually get wrong?
Hamburg
https://twitter.com/HSV_English/status/1547140859426136067
Dan: 7/10 – Maybe I’m just a sucker for Hamburg tops. I like the Black and blue on the home shirt. Big fan of this one and better than last season’s home kit.
Ben: 4/10 – In spite of being the title favourites, the home kit makes them look like relegation play off contenders. HSV have had some beauties over the decades like the red European Cup winners shirt of 1983, but what went wrong here?
Hannover 96
https://twitter.com/Hannover96/status/1539568708946984960
Dan: 8/10 – This has everything a home kit needs for me. It’s smart, the shade of red is nice and the crest goes with it. This is certainly up there and Hannover rarely get a home kit wrong.
Ben: 6/10 – Hannover 96 surely have the best crest in the second tier in Germany? I like the chequered detail, this Macron’s red jersey is a classic for sure.
Hansa Rostock
https://twitter.com/HansaRostock/status/1545446750575534081
Dan: 5/10 – This would have been better if it was just blue but with white around the neck and sleeves.
Ben: 5/10 – Nike have done some class kits over the years including BVB’s Champions League winning kit, who could forget? The ‘Hanseaten’ may have a ‘heavy metal’ image but only Dua Lipa could really rock this one!
Heidenheim
https://twitter.com/FCH1846/status/1545456604543426565
Dan: 9/10 – OK, I agree with Ben on this one. This is certainly up there for me. Both the red and blue are excellent shades. Reminds me a little of Bayern’s 2014/15 kit.
Ben: 10/10 – Full marks for Puma’s Heidenheim kit, not just because BVB II’s Lennard Maloney is playing with the club this season, this kit has all of ‘Barca’ and more, this one is on my to buy list!!
Holstein Kiel
https://twitter.com/Holstein_Kiel/status/1545063978128199680
Dan: 7/10 – Holstein Kiel have rarely had a bad kit and although similar to Hamburg’s in style on the upper chest, this is very nice. Such a unique club that’s deserving of Bundesliga football.
Ben: 6/10 – I didn’t get the controversy earlier in the summer about the Holstein home kit, I would love to see ‘The Storks’ promoted and it would be the first team ever from the county of Schleswig-Holstein to achieve but the shirt leaves me mid-table inspired which is alas probably where the Kieler will finish this season.
Jahn Regensburg
https://twitter.com/SSVJAHN/status/1545361621433851904
Dan: 7/10 – It’s crisp, and that’s what I look for in a kit.
Ben: 7/10 – Saller again is a new brand to me. The kit is crisp, clean and it get’s the message across, cannot argue with that just hope the Regensburger can do the same on the pitch.
Kaiserslautern
https://twitter.com/Rote_Teufel/status/1547846360480616448
Dan: 5/10 – An improvement on last season but like Ben, I thought their burgundy kit was excellent.
Ben: 6/10 – Four-time champions Kaiserslautern are back in the second tier after 5 years of asking but the kit is no celebration wearable, anyone remember the burgundy 2003/4 kit?
Karlsruher SC
https://twitter.com/KarlsruherSC/status/1547571357436694542
Dan: 6/10 – I don’t like many Macron kits, but this is up there! Clean home kit.
Ben: 7/10 – I love the historical club crests in the design, nice work Macron!
Magdeburg
https://twitter.com/1_FCM/status/1547546987771428870
Dan: 5/10 – I’m not Uhlsport’s biggest fan, I think this would have worked better if they reworked the shoulders. Not a fan of the white there.
Ben: 5/10 – Always been an Uhlsport fan when they did goalkeeper strips but this kit and the FCM have some of the most loyal fans in the league but the white pin stripes? Pyjama party anyone?
Nürnberg
https://twitter.com/1_fc_nuernberg/status/1540956198534520832
Dan: 8/10 – I think it’s the shade of red that does this for me. And the black. Reminds me of an 80s kit. Big fan of this one.
Ben: 6/10 – Adidas are the kings of cool when it comes to German outfitters in my book but the 9 time Meisterschaften of the ‘Der Club’ seem to have left the Herzongenaurauch designers a bit lost for words again this season good effort, try harder next time.
Paderborn
https://twitter.com/SCPaderborn07/status/1544341382218883072
Dan: 7/10 – A massive improvement from their last two home kits.
Ben: 7/10 – Another Saller shirt, classic design. Top half finish for Paderborner in that kit.
Sandhausen
https://twitter.com/SV_Sandhausen/status/1544691572180148228
Dan: 6/10 – This is smart. Nothing over the top, doesn’t hurt the eyes and is clean. How a kit should be.
Ben: 7/10 – Macron have done it again for the minnows of the league Sandhausen look the part but will it be enough to keep the Heidelberg club in the league?
St. Pauli
Der FC St. Pauli hat einen neuen Stürmer verpflichtet: Johannes "Jojo" #Eggestein wechselt vom belgischen Erstligisten @official_rafc nach Hamburg.
— FC St. Pauli (@fcstpauli) June 21, 2022
Alle Infos & Stimmen ➡️ https://t.co/LsbVBdEmQs#fcsp pic.twitter.com/EZrWlNtgrf
Dan: 6/10 – Credit to St. Pauli for their approach to this home kit, but it just doesn’t do it for me.
Ben: 8/10 – ‘DIY’ is St Pauli’s own home grown effort, BVB did the same with Goool in the 2000s but St. Pauli are doing their own kit this season with a reported focus on sustainability. The club’s brown with the trim looking good, let’s see if the editor can get some of these to ‘test at home’?
Dan’s favourite is Heidenheim with a score of 9/10, which is also echoed by Ben, who goes one better with the unbeatable score of 10/10. And they’re the overall winners with a score of 19/20.
Which is your favourite 2. Bundesliga kit this season?
Here is the match day one fixtures in full:
Excited about Bundesliga 2 season yet? You should be, German football is back and we are off to order some of the kits. We will take a look at the best away kits next week.
