CSL Styles, Part 1

Before the start of the season, the CSL reached an unprecedented deal with Nike for $200 million over 10 years, so the majority of teams have switched to a Nike kit this season, unfortunately almost all follow a strict template with "white armpits" on almost every top. While I'm typically a big fan of Nike kits, these look like they were cobbled together in a month (which is realistically what happened) and make the league look less professional, the opposite of what is desired. Here's a look at what we've seen so far:

Beijing Guoan: I love Guoan, but I've never been a fan of their adidas kits (here's the home kit) as the shade of green (or perhaps its because of the white) never looked as nice as the kelly green they used to wear in their Nike days.

Changchun Yatai: So far we've only seen their home uniforms, which strictly follows the Nike template and is more or less devoid of color, a disappointment because I loved the red, yellow, and black Umbro kits they wore last year.

Changsha Jinde: They've already worn two home kits this season. In their first game, they wore a very odd top with the crest on the right chest, highly unusual. A week later, a collar was added and the crest was on the left side. I definitely prefer their Kappa kits from last year, but at least this one is white armpit free.

Chengdu Blades: I don't love the home kit, but Chengdu is one of the few teams that rejected Nike this year, instead their Umbro kits are ho-hum, but at least stand out as one of the few swooshless offerings.

Chongqing Lifan: We've only seen this solid red home kit (with white armpits) so far this season. Not a good choice, but when you're just back in the top flight, you have to go with the flow.

Dalian Shide: Another brave swoosh rejecter, the boys in China's soccer city turn out in this home strip, staying true to their typical colors and only changing to the most recent adidas template (the same as Guoan). Of note, as of yet, they've yet to find a kit sponsor and are playing with blank fronts.

Guagzhou Baiyunshan: We've only seen their change kit so far, but because they were a Nike team last season, it appears they are avoiding the white armpit template and instead going with a little nicer design.

Hangzhou Greentown: two different home kits, there is the green with piping and white armpits, then there is this white collar, solid version. Not sure if its a long sleeve, short sleeve thing, but it looks really bad when the team comes on the pitch wearing two different kits. Not sure what to say, their Kappa kits last year weren't much better, but the two different kits makes it look extremely amateurish.

Henan Jianye: The last of the swoosh avoiders, Henan's Umbro home kit is a big "meh" for me.

Jiangsu Sainty: The champions of China's lower division last year are now playing with the big boys and are the only team we've seen both a home and a change strip from. Both are strictly new Nike template kits, though the change may be a little better with its collar.

Qingdao Zhongneng: Their change strip is pretty strict to the Nike template, though at least its not a solid white like so many other teams (this one has red armpits) and I'm not sure how I feel about the large sponsor's name under the badge. However, compared to this Kappa outfit, I actually think it may be an improvement.

Shaanxi Zhongxin: We've only seen their change strip so far, should we just call them Brazil? That said, this Mizuno uniform from last year isn't much better.

Shandong Luneng: They are another longtime Nike squad, and this year's home kit doesn't look much different from last year, except for the large sponsor name under the badge (ala their fellow Shandong team, Qingdao).

Shanghai Shenhua: Another long term Nike team, whose home kit looks like this (another view). The only major change from last year is the sponsor on the front (can't make out this year's very clearly) and the addition to the club's website to the back.

Shenzhen: Here's the home Nike kit, one of the only one that doesn't follow the template, but does have a strange white shoulder pads thing going on. The subliminal pattern on the front kinda sorta reminds me of this. This former league champion went through 2 different kits (and 2 different sponsors) last year and is one of the only ones that may have benefited from the Nike switch.

Tianjin Teda: Finally the team at the top of the table so far, Tianjin's change strip, all we've seen so far, isn't the worst, but is a little too simple for me.

So there's a look at what we've seen from all 16 teams so far this season, I'll update this when we start to see more of the change strips as well as showing what the 4 clubs in the Asian Champions League are wearing in the next few weeks.