In football, the association between a national team and the colors of its flag seems obvious. Portugal plays in red, Brazil in yellow, and Argentina in light blue and white. However, several nations have adopted kits with colors that do not appear in their national symbols, each with a peculiar story behind the choice. In the Netherlands, orange is more than just a color; it is a state of mind. The oranjegekte (orange madness) takes over the country during major competitions, but this color does not feature in the national flag, which is red, white, and blue. The explanation dates back to the 16th century and William of Orange, considered the father of the nation, who inherited the principality of Orange in France. The color became a symbol of the monarchy and, by extension, the country. Although orange was replaced by red in the flag for better visibility at sea, the orange kit has persisted since its debut in 1907, even though this was marked by a heavy defeat… 12-2 against England. The Japanese national team, known as the Blue Samurai, wears this color despite their flag being white and red. The origin of this tradition is linked to a university event in 1930. At the Far Eastern Games in Tokyo, the country was represented by the Imperial University of the capital, which wore sky-blue kits. The color was maintained, and in 1936, at the Berlin Olympics, Japan achieved its first international victory against Sweden (3-2) dressed in blue. Superstition did the rest. A brief attempt to use red and white between 1988 and 1992 resulted in sporting failures, leading to the definitive return of blue, which coincided with winning the Asian Cup in 1992. Despite the Australian flag being red, white, and blue, its athletes, including footballers known as Socceroos, as well as rugby players called Wallabies, compete in green and yellow. The reason is botanical: the golden wattle was incorporated into the Commonwealth coat of arms in 1901 as a symbol of national unity. Although green and yellow were only officially recognized as national colors in 1984, the Wallabies had been using them since 1928 and the Socceroos since their first World Cup in 1974. In neighboring New Zealand, sports are dressed in black: the All Blacks in rugby, the Black Caps in cricket, and the Tall Blacks in basketball. However, the football team plays in white, being known as the All Whites. The choice was a way to differentiate themselves from the omnipresent black color. Although they initially played in black, it was during the qualification for the 1982 World Cup, in a match against Taiwan, that the team wore an all-white kit for the first time, immediately earning the nickname that distinguishes them to this day. Out of the World Cup (for the third consecutive time), the Italian national team plays in blue, in stark contrast to the tricolor flag (green, white, and red): the explanation is monarchical. In 1911, the team adopted the blue of the House of Savoy as a tribute to Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of unified Italy. The royal blue became a symbol of unity for the young nation. Even after the abolition of the monarchy in 1946, the color remained. With four World Cup titles won (1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006), no one considered it necessary to change the color of the jersey.
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