Talking Trikots: Bayern Munich’s best home, away, and third kits this decade

Football and fashion are surprisingly closely correlated, and we decided to give the aesthetic side of football the credit it deserves. Talking Trikots (jerseys in German) is a new segment on BFW that will feature all things Bayern Munich fashion, from historic jerseys to sexy shirts, and everything in between.

During the Frauen’s Champions League win on Thursday, the BFW Sclack sparked a bit of debate about the kits they were wearing, and how attractive Bayern Munich’s current season’s kits are. With football kits fast becoming iconic pieces of streetwear, we thought (or I thought) it was a good time to revisit some of the finest kits that Bayern has produced over the years - home, away, and third.

So this piece will cover Bayern’s best home, away, and third kits in recent memory. We’ll be looking at kits from this decade only, since this decade is when football kits really started becoming seen as fashionable wear. We also left out the goalkeeper kit because those are made based on templates that are applicable to all adidas sponsored teams.

Without further ado, enjoy!

Home: 2011/13

Photo by liewig christian/Corbis via Getty Images

Forget this decade, this particular shirt is probably up there with the best kits ever to be worn by FC Bayern. It’s a deep red, not too bright, not too dark. Faint pinstripes run down the shirt, not too noticeable, but still enough to stand out a bit. Finally, gold accents and adidas stripes adorn the kit to create one of the most beautiful kits in Bayern’s long and rich history, if not the most beautiful. Even in the world of football, this kit can stand head and shoulders above a lot of other kits. Gold accents very rarely go wrong, and the red and gold matchup makes it look like a good luck charm, aptly considering how well the team performed while wearing it.

The kit was so good that it was worn two seasons in a row. Its first season was a bit of a downer, with the club finishing without a single trophy, and ending with the Champions League final that never happened. However, in the following season, the club lived up to its jersey by having one of the best seasons in history, losing just three games in total and winning a historic treble.

Perhaps the best moment in this kit was the 7-0 aggregate victory over Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals. A golden performance wearing a golden jersey. Perfection.

Honorable Mention: 2020/21

Photo by Julian Finney / UEFA / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Design-wise, it’s not the most attractive jersey out there, but it’s still a good-looking one. The reason it makes this list is not because of how it looks, but because it’s officially the most legendary shirt in the history of the club. It was worn in the title decider in the 19/20 Bundesliga, the 2020 DFB-Pokal final, the 2020 Champions League final, the UEFA Super Cup, the DFL Super Cup, and the Club World Cup final. Bayern won all those six matches to complete a historic sextuple. Not only that, but it was also worn in the title decider in the following season’s Bundesliga title decider. What kind of jersey has seven trophies to its name?

Away: 2021/22

Photo by Stefan Matzke - sampics/Corbis via Getty Images

Our next entry is also one of the latest entries in Bayern’s jersey closet. The current season’s away kit is something special indeed. Despite the fact that it’s not really in the club’s tradition, Bayern have looked pretty darn good in dark colors, be they blue or black. This year, adidas pulled out all the stops and created a beautiful black and gold jersey for Bayern Munich, and it is just stunning.

A series of luminous dots subtly creates the iconic Bavarian flag diamonds on the front of the shirt, and every other highlight, the logos, the stripes, everything, is done in gold, in stark contrast with the jet black background of the jersey. The one downside of the shirt is that it doesn’t feature any stars above the club logo, but it doesn’t stop it from being an incredibly attractive shirt nonetheless.

Because it’s still early in the season, this shirt hasn’t had the chance to really shine just yet. In fact, it was only worn once at the time of writing, in the Bundesliga game against RB Leipzig. However, it still has one very special memory.

The shirt was debuted in the final game of the 2020/21 season. The game just so happened to be the farewell matches for departing legends Javi Martínez, David Alaba, and Jérôme Boateng, not to mention sextuple-winning coach Hansi Flick and assistant coach Hermann Gerland. Talk about going out in style. Not only that, but it was also the game in which Robert Lewandowski broke Gerd Müller’s 40-year old goalscoring record, while looking fine in a fine shirt.

Honorable Mention: 2017/18

Photo by Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images

This kit was inspired by the 1998 kit, dark blue with a red band around the waist. It’s another fine looking shirt, and it was worn in Jupp Heynckes’ final season with Bayern. It wasn’t the most memorable season, so there’s not too much to say about the shirt’s record, but it was worn in the Bundesliga title decider.

Third: 2019/20

Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images

Now, third kits don’t get the credit they deserve. They’re rarely worn, and often take backstage to the home and away kits. It’s a pity, because they have some of the best designs. Take the 19/20 third kit for example. It’s a dark navy, almost black, with neon orange highlights. It has very minimal details, which makes it look even sleeker. It’s also very subtly speckled with small diamonds, which pay homage to the club’s Bavarian roots. See, this is how you incorporate modern with tradition. The result is a bafflingly beautiful piece of fabric that really should be recognized more than it actually is.

Sadly, like we already said, the third kit doesn’t get to shine that much, and this one was no exception. During Bayern’s treble-winning 19/20 campaign, the shirt was only worn five times, thrice in the Bundesliga, and twice in the Champions League. But Bayern didn’t lose a single game while wearing that kit, and only dropped points once. See what a badass looking shirt does to you?

Fun fact: the shirt was also the final 19/20 kit to be worn that season, because the 20/21 home shirt was debuted in the next game. Again, talk about going out in style.

Honorable Mention: N/A

We believe this deserves a piece of its own, there are just too many beautiful third kits out there. Stay tuned!

So there you have it! Which home, away, or third kit was your favorite so far? Let us know in the comments!