THE VITALS:

Team: England

Brand: Umbro

Era: 2011-12 (Used during the 2012 UEFA European Championships qualifying campaign, and for the 2012 UEFA European Championships)

Name/Number: Defoe #12

CONDITION: VERY GOOD

Although the overall condition of the shirt is excellent, the glaring blemishes are the name and numbering print which is fading on both sides and the misprint of #21 on the front and #12 on the back. Naturally, these defects have been reflected in the price.

DIMENSIONS:

Size: 36

Pit to Pit Measurement: 18.0 inches

Shirt Length: 29.5 inches 

Made by Umbro 'in their Tailored by Umbro, Made in England' range of shirts which they introduced in 2011, this shirt would make ideal foil for someone who wears a size small.

DESCRIPTION:

Umbro’s penultimate outfield shirt they would make for England came in 2011 when they produced this hitherto seen before black and blue ensemble which the national side would use during qualifying for Euro 2012 and then during the competition itself. This strip would also mark the first time since 1996 that a red away strip wasn’t employed for the national side; the template however, does seem like it is a recoloured version of the home shirt used between 2009-10 and the same font was also retained even after the 2012 home shirt was released. This shirt would debut on 2^nd September 2011 when England defeated Bulgaria 3-0 and would also feature in the away clashes against Montenegro, Norway, Poland and the clash with Sweden at Euro 2012 – ensuring that ‘The Three Lions’ stayed unbeaten whenever this attire was donned! This particular article denotes the clash with Sweden on 15^th June 2012 at Euro 2012 under the crest.

THE SEASON(S):

The road to overcoming the disappointment of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa began with the 2-1 win over Hungary in August, however, the real test began with their pair of fixtures in September as qualification for the European Championship commenced – starting with clashes against Bulgaria and Switzerland. ‘The Three Lions’ would impress as they beat Bulgaria 4-0 and then overcame Switzerland 3-1 in Basel. 2010 however, would end on a disappointing note as they were held to a goalless draw away against Montenegro before falling 2-1 to France in a glamour friendly at Wembley on 17^th November.

The 2011 cycle of fixtures started with a come-from-behind victory over Denmark on 9^tH February, before beating Wales in Cardiff to resume qualifying duties on 26^th March. Back to back draws with Ghana and Switzerland did nothing to stop England from marching on to a pair of wins over Bulgaria and Wales in September to seal their place at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine – making their 2-2 draw away against Montenegro inconsequential. By avoiding defeat in the Balkans however, they would enjoy a 100% unbeaten qualifying campaign with 5 wins and 3 draws.

The pair of November friendlies ensured that England remained unbeaten in all 9 games in 2011 – defeating World and European champions – Spain and then Sweden by 1-0 score-lines.

Fabio Capello would drop the bombshell that he would be resigning with immediate effect after the FA’s decision to strip John Terry of the England captaincy in early February 2012 to leave the FA with just six months to find his replacement to lead the guide the national side at Euro 2012!

Stuart Pearce would take on caretaker duties for England’s friendly against the Netherlands on 29^th February and he would oversee a dramatic 3-2 defeat at Wembley. Still without a manager – England would be drawn against: Sweden, France and Ukraine in Group D at the European Championships.

It wasn’t until 1^st May that they announced that Roy Hodgson would be the new England manager and his first night in the dugout came on 26^th May where his tenure got off to 1-0 win over Norway, before he masterminded a 1-0 win over Belgium on 2^nd June ahead of their curtain raiser at Euro 2012 against France on 11^th June.

Nearly eight years to the day of their classic meeting to kick off Euro 2004 – England and France would battle to a 1-1 draw with Manchester City team-mates Samir Nasri and Joleon Lescott scoring for their respective countries. One of the games of the tournament unfolded in Kyiv on 15^th June when England overcame Sweden 3-2 in a see-saw encounter. Qualification to the quarter final would be achieved after Ukraine were edged 1-0 on 19^th June to set up a meeting with Italy on 24^th June. After a goalless draw unfolded after 120 minutes – England would exit the tournament on penalties in Kyiv.

In view of the tumultuous preparations – the national team were greeted back home in very high spirits with enough being displayed to really inspire hope that the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 would be an even greater success! Those fires were further stoked on 15^th August when England and Italy met again in a friendly in Switzerland and England came from 1-0 down to win 2-1 ahead of qualification for the World Cup which would begin in September.

England got underway with a 5-0 win over Moldova, before held to a 1-1 draw at Wembley by Ukraine. 2012 would end with a win, draw and defeat; with San Marino being beaten 5-0, before a 1-1 draw unfolded against Poland in their final qualifier of 2012 and lastly, being beaten 4-2 in a friendly away against Sweden.

The notable players that season(s) were:

Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Andy Carroll, Darren Bent, Stuart Downing, Theo Walcott, Danny Welbeck, Ashley Young, Frank Lampard, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Milner, Steven Gerrard, Scott Parker, Jack Wilshere, Jordan Henderson, Gareth Barry, Joleon Lescott, Ashley Cole, Micah Richards, Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, Rio Ferdinand, Chris Smalling, Phil Jagielka, John Terry, Kieran Gibbs, Glen Johnson, Joe Hart, Robert Green, Ben Foster