International Soccer Jerseys

[baltimorewashington]

I need help in understanding how to determine the authenticity of international soccer jerseys such as the ones currently in the American Memorabilia Auction which closes this Thursday. My son is interested and I have no clue. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[bruno89]

Its like everything else ,do your research and from there take your decision ,there is one jersey im bidding on right now down there too ,probably the same you are bidding on that raises you question ,its like everything else ,try to do your research ,find photos ,games they might have been used and see if you find any photo that might match the position of the team number,logo,soccer jerseys dont often have visible stains after being washed as other sports might have ,its a but like baseball in my opinion ,also check for the tags too.

[jdhbraves]

Which jersey specifically are you interested in? I did a quick search at AM and saw a Brazil, Man United and AC Milan jersey. You must do your homework with these jerseys. Addidas manufactured jerseys are a minefield. Most milan jerseys have never been within 1000 miles of the milan kit room. Most Brazil shirts for sale are not genuine and Manchester United jerseys (real ones) start at about 1500 Usd. Each team and their jerseys can be discussed in detail. It is too broad of a topic to discuss generally. Post a specific jersey or inquire about a specific team and we will discuss.

[baltimorewashington]

He's interested in the Messi (Barcelona), the Ronaldos (Real Madrid & Manchester United) and the Ronaldinho (Brazil). Thanks for your help.

[David]

It would appear the safest one would be the unused but signed Manchester one comes with the club LOA.

[jdhbraves]

A barcelona player of messi is obtainable but most barcelona jerseys on the market are match prepared (issued to player but not worn in a match). Ronaldo jerseys from real madrid are obtainable but issued ones are much cheaper than a match worn shirt. If you are looking for a one-look original madrid jersey of ronaldo, vist a website called match worn shirts spain. Click on real madrid and he has worn and issued jerseys. Some are still unwashed straight off the players back. The jerseys are not cheap but the seller is a good seller who gets genuine madrid shirts, not badged up replicas. Ronaldo manchester united shirts are very scarce. There is an orginal for sale on a european website that is genuine but expensive. I can send you a link if you are interested. As to the jersey that comes with a club coa, i would again proceed with caution. From about 2004-2009 man united did not issue coas with worn shirts to my knowledge. If you wanted to get a real one you had two buy from one of three sources, two of which are european dealers of match worn jerseys. If you want a genuine brazil jersey, there is a website based in england that has a few. I can direct you to a link where you can see the jerseys and prices. Signed brazil replicas are around, but match won is very difficult. Unlike baseball jerseys a collector has the following varities to wade through 1-outright fake jersey. 2-genuine player stock shirt badged up with genuine player lettering and patches. 3-matched issued shirt just like what is worn on the field but not from the kit room. 3- match issued jersey direct from kitroom only not worn. 4-genuine match worn shirt. Issued to a player and worn in a match. Most you will find sold as "washed" whcih is a good way to pass a fake. An unwashed photo matched soccer jersey is a holy grail for a soccer collector.

[jdhbraves]

Apologies in advance for the typos. Typing from a phone in a hurry. I would also add there are quite a bit of genuine jerseys around from "minor stars" and teams less popular than the madrids and barcelonas. Japanese are serious collectors of soccer superstar jerseys. They pay mega bucks for jerseys and are big players in the market. In my opinion shirts from teams like chelsea, arsenal, everton etc are much more affordable, unless the jersey is from a special game etc. Feel free to discuss this more. Soccer is truly the worlds sport and this forum would benefit greatly from knowledge on soccer memorabilia.

[jdhbraves]

I will take a look at the united jersey tonight with "club coa" The devil is in the details with united jerseys. I bought wayne rooneys 2005 Fa cup final jersey for 4000 Dollars. United lost to arsenal on pk's in that match.Subsequently it turned out to be a fake. How did i find out? I did some homework and attempted to trace it back to the kitroom. When i did that i discovered the whereabouts of an original. I eventually got photos of it and it was identical in all aspects to mine except for the nike laundry tagging inside the jersey. The printing on the original tags were perfect. The printing on my high end fake was slightly blurry and less defined. My fake had authentic lettering and numbering and a genuine signature.My fake was signed by rooney so it may or may not have fooled him too. I received a refund but only after much heartache. To my knowledge he had four jerseys made for that particular match. It was a holy grail to be sure but only if genuine!!

[baltimorewashington]

Thanks again for all of the advice and information. We would be interested in viewing the various European websites and dealers. We are going to pass on the AM auction jerseys and look for authentic Messi, Forlan, Donnavon, Pele and Beckenbauer jerseys. If anyone has any for trade or otherwise, please let me know. Thanks.

[baltimorewashington]

It appears that most (all?) of the soccer jerseys in the AM auction are owned by MaracanaSports.com. Does anyone know anything about this site? Thanks.