THE VITALS:

Team: Portugal

Brand: Nike

Era: 2010-12 (Used for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2012 UEFA European Championships Qualifying campaign)

Name/Number: -

CONDITION: EXCELLENT

This shirt remains in excellent condition! Excluding some very light staining and signs of wear, the material, rubber spots, crest and Nike swoosh are in fine standing order.

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Small

Pit to Pit Measurement: 19 inches

Shirt Length: 28.5 inches 

Made in the new Nike Dri-Fit style that was introduced ahead of the 2010-11 season; these shirts tended to fit a little baggier than the shirts that came in season’s after, and this is reflected in the dimensions, which suggest the shirt could fit a size medium also.

DESCRIPTION:

After a trio of more conservative efforts, Nike delivered arguably their most cutting-edge Portugal home shirt with this number that was introduced of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Continuing the deviation from the wine and burgundy colours used by Portugal in the 2000’s; the stand-out feature is without a doubt the thick green strip that adorns the chest of this shirt; gloriously patterned with red perforations. This shirt looks even greater when seen as an entire strip, with Nike utilising white shorts for the first time with green socks; in our opinion, this is the quintessential Portugal strip made by Nike!

THE SEASON(S):

After eventually reaching the 2010 FIFA World Cup final’s in South Africa by way of the play-off route; Carlos Queiroz’s men got the new decade underway with a 2-0 win over China, and would remain unbeaten in preparation for the Group Stages of the World Cup, and even though they were in a group of death that also featured: the Ivory Coast and Brazil, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani in their ranks; they would fear no opponent in South Africa! A goalless draw with the Ivory Coast would be followed up by the biggest win of the entire competition as they saw off North Korea 7-0, before eventually qualifying from the group alongside Brazil in 2^nd place. Their reward would be a match-up against tournament favourites and European Champions: Spain. A tense bout would eventually see Spain prevail 1-0 in Cape Town, however, the sole consolation would be that their Iberian neighbours did go on to win the competition. Preparation for Euro 2012 would start with a crazy 4-4 draw at home to Cyprus, however, the year would end strong as Spain were beaten 4-0 in their final game of 2010. 2011 would begin with a tough 2-1 defeat to Argentina in a glamour friendly, and despite some strong performances in their Euro 2012 qualifiers, they would have to resort to the play-off once again to reach a major competition. In another coincidence, their opponents would again be Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the job would be completed much more spectacularly, as they routed the Balkan nation 6-2 to become a part of the 16 teams to do battle in Poland and the Ukraine. The final time this shirt would be worn would come in their 29/02/12 friendly against the co-hosts Poland, a duel which ended goalless in Warsaw.

The notable players that season were:

Hugo Almeida, Liedson, Cristiano Ronaldo, Helder Postiga, Silvestre Varela, Ricardo Quaresma, Simao, Danny, Nani, Deco, Joao Moutinho, Raul Meireles, Ruben Amorim, Hugo Viana, Tiago, Pedro Mendes, Miguel Veloso, Miguel, Fabio Coentrao, Rolando, Pepe, Ricardo Costa, Ricardo Carvalho, Bruno Alves, Paulo Ferreira, Joao Pereira, Eduardo, Rui Patracio, Beto