Some colors just seem to go together, and when it comes to soccer jerseys, a green pitch and a blue jersey go hand in hand. It helps, of course, that some of the most entertaining and successful clubs in soccer have chosen blue as their team colors. Geography can play a part in club rivalries, as can the battle between two dominant teams.
If the teams doing battle have contrasting colors even better, the sides are drawn clearly, it’s red against blue, a rivalry often needs no more justification than the color of a jersey.
You don’t have to look much further than Manchester or Liverpool to see perfect examples of these polar opposites, hated city rivals playing in red or blue, it’s just another reason for one to hate the other.
It often feels like the team in blue is the perennial underdog, but times have changed, some of the best teams around play in blue, dominating leagues, cups, and rivals alike.
Let’s look at 7 of the most well-known teams that play in blue, and see if there’s a stand-out club that plays in a blue jersey.
7. S.S Lazio
One of Italian soccer’s giants, Lazio is a club steeped in history and success, having won two Serie A titles, seven Coppa Italia, and even a rare foray into European competition with a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and UEFA Super Cup.
Lazio is easily recognizable in their sky-blue jerseys and has a fierce and often violent rivalry with fellow Rome-based club, AS Roma.
SS Lazio has an incredible list of former players, with legends of the game such as Alessandro Nesta, Pavel Nedved, and Paul Gascoigne amongst their more notable players.
Playing their home games at the Stadio Olimpico, a 70,000-seater stadium that Lazio shares with hated rivals Roma, Lazio fans are renowned worldwide for their passionate fanaticism.
6. S.S.C Napoli
One of the most enigmatic clubs in Italy, Napoli is famous for many things, most notably, pizza, Mount Vesuvius, and a man called Diego Maradona. It’s hard to choose which is most beloved of Neapolitans. pizza, or Maradona, given the almost god-like status of the Argentinian wizard.
The sight of the barrel-chested Maradona destroying teams in the mid-1980s is one of the most awe-inspiring sights ever seen in Italian soccer. A world record signing in 1984, the team would win its first Serie A three years later, cementing Maradona as a hero in Naples.
Napoli has always worn jerseys of a blue, or sky-blue color due to the city’s position on the coast, the Gulf of Naples is famed for its clear blue waters, and the club has always been known as the Azzurri, the blues.
In recent years Napoli has become one of the dominant teams in the Serie A again, and with sound investment in the playing squad, could again be looking for another title soon.
5. Everton FC
- League: Premier League (England)
The blue half of Liverpool has suffered badly in recent years, having their noisy neighbors reestablishing themselves as one of the most feared teams in world soccer. In a city obsessed with soccer, being blue, or being red, defines who you are. Everton has struggled with poor player purchases and finds itself in deep financial trouble.
A lucky escape from relegation in the 2024/22 Premier League season has left many Toffees fans’ fearing for the future of this historic club. Famed for their royal blue jerseys, Everton has a long and at times successful history, with a period of dominance in the 1980s under manager Howard Kendall.
After several early hiccups with their jersey color in the 1890s, Everton finally settled on a royal blue jersey with white shorts and socks, a look that has become ingrained in the club ever since.
With four managers at the helm since 2018, Everton has declined as a force, due in no small part to their poor transfer activity and a lack of identity. The hope amongst Everton fans is that under new manager Frank Lampard a change in fortunes is imminent.
4. FC Schalke 04
- League: Bundesliga (Germany)
While many people may believe that Bayern Munich is the only team to dominate in the Bundesliga, the truth is very different, as even a cursory glance at the history of Schalke 04 will show. With seven Bundesliga titles and a UEFA Cup to its name, Schalke has a long and illustrious past.
The first German club to win the double, in 1937, and with the second largest fanbase in Germany, Schalke is a massive club in every respect. Playing their home games in an all-blue jersey, Schalke has historically been one of the heavyweights of German soccer, so it came as a huge shock when they were relegated in 2024.
Shocked, yes, but not surprised, after a second-place finish in 2018, the club’s financial health was in serious trouble, and within three years were almost crippled with debt. 30 consecutive games without a win finally relegated Schalke in April 2024, and the club looked in serious trouble. Thankfully a successful season followed, and Schalke is now returning to its rightful place in the Bundesliga.
Despite being the 14th richest club in the world, the Covid Pandemic hit the club hard, almost going bankrupt in 2024, but new sponsors and a turnaround in fortune seem to indicate that the famous blue jersey of Schalke 04 is back on track and looking forward to a bright future.
3. Italy – National Team
Gli Azzurri (The Blues) as the Italian national team is known, is one of the most successful teams in international soccer history. The current European champions have four World Cups in their locker, two European championships, and a hatful of finals appearances in their incredible history.
Having worn their much-loved and easily identifiable blue jersey since 1911, Italy has been part of some of the greatest games of soccer ever witnessed and has been lucky enough to have some of world soccer’s greatest ever players don their famous jerseys.
Roberto Baggio’s famous penalty miss at the 1994 World Cup final is an iconic moment in time, with the mercurial Italian slumped in disbelief as his penalty soared over the crossbar.
Even after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the Italian national team kept doing what they do best, winning soccer games. While most believed the team was on a decline and needed a radical change of direction, the Azzurri came back strongly to win the 2024 (played in 2024 due to Covid) European championships against England.
It looked like the blues were back, yet a failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup has again cast doubts over the team. It remains to be seen whether the Italy squad has the skill or required consistency to rebuild, but given their history, write them off at your peril.
2. Chelsea FC
- League: Premier League (England)
One of the richest clubs in the world, and with a trophy room the envy of nearly every other soccer team, Chelsea FC are one of the true giants of English soccer. With a distinctive royal blue jersey that has been a mainstay of the club since the early 1960s, Chelsea is one of the toughest opponents in the Premier League.
Bought out by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in 2003, Chelsea went on a spending spree for top players never before seen in world soccer, with loans to the club reaching an eye-watering £709 million by 2009. Money talks, however, as the team two championships back-to-back, as well as an FA Cup and two League Cups.
Being able to cherry-pick the best players in soccer has its advantages, and Chelsea became renowned for their physically strong and technically gifted players under talismanic manager, Jose Mourinho.
Even after the sacking of Mourinho, the funds available to the club meant that trophies were still being won, and after losing the Champions League final in 2008, Chelsea finally became the first London club to win the trophy in 2012.
With the Russia-Ukraine war forcing the British government to rethink their policies on Russian investment in the UK, Abramovich was forced to sell the club in May 2022, for a whopping $4.25 billion. And after 19 years in charge, and a roomful of silverware, Russian ownership of Chelsea FC had ended.
Whilst regimes may change, the fans and the club remain, and so too does the famous blue jersey of Chelsea, so perhaps it doesn’t matter who holds the keys to the door.
1. Manchester City
- League: Premier League (England)
Despite Manchester City being around since 1894, and having had a long and often turbulent history, the fans of the club are often some of the most loyal in soccer, with an affinity to the club from cradle to grave. It’s only since the purchase of the club in 2008 by Sheikh Mansoor and the Abu Dhabi United Group that Manchester City has become a global entity.
Having worn their distinctive sky blue jersey for over a century, the sky blues, or the citizens, as the fans are often known, have become one of the biggest and most dominant teams ever to play in the Premier League. The first team to record 100 points in a single season, City have swept all before them domestically since the arrival of manager Pep Guardiola.
Manchester City is quickly becoming one of the powerhouses of world soccer, and once Champions League success comes, as it surely will, there is a real chance that the club, the brand, and the sky-blue jersey will be one of the biggest things in soccer since the invention of the soccer ball.
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