If you have partaken of our Fun Stats page, you will have noticed a list of Football Clubs on the bottom.

To keep the mind occupied while we do nothing John has decided to count the Jerseys he has seen.

This has been tough as there are so many fake jerseys around but using his intelligence he has managed to work out the genuine articles and count them.

In Australia, given the strength of AFL and Rugby the number of Soccer jerseys is expected to fall but lets see.. Australia is full of Europeans so more Soccer Jerseys than you can shake a stick at. Plus Western Sydney just won the Asian Champions League so expect to see many more of these jerseys popping up!

After nearly 9 Monthes on the Road here are the findings.

 

Random Jersey Award: A 3-way tie between the Brentford jersey in Kuala Lumpur and seeing a slum child in Dharavi (Mumbai), running around the backstreets with a Celtic Jersey on. Also the Tanzania jersey spotted in Parramatta last week.

First Jersey Award: Aston Villa (5th January – Flight to Delhi from London).

Most Jerseys In 1 place: Sky Bar in Kuala Lumpur- 12 Staff members in different country Jerseys.

 

Top 11 Football Clubs / Nations

1. Barcelona (55)

The Catalan Giants seem to be well supported with many street kids and even adults sporting their jerseys. The Orange and Yellow Away strip is very popular in Asia. In Australia it is the old blue/red jersey that is favoured and in increasing numbers.

2. Germany (42)

Deutschland Deutschland uber alle! Always another favourite and they were out in force in Kota Kinabalu after THAT match during the World Cup

3. Chelsea (38)

Number 2 Club in our poll. These jerseys are everywhere. I think they have appeared in every country we have been in. Not counting jerseys we have seen a lot of tuk-tuks and motorbikes with chelsea badges and colours and we will never forget watching Everton vs Chelsea in Nepal. Everyone in the restaurant, staff and fellow patrons alike cheering for Chelsea with John (and Karen) the only Toffee Supporters in the corner getting heaps of banter thrown at them. Priceless.

4. Arsenal: (37)

Surprisingly The Gunners have made it into the Top 4. The London club once had a Japanese player called Junichi Inamoto who had the nickname ‘T-Shirt’, as his presence was to sell said merchandise….so this maybe a legacy effect of that. Also it makes it real easy to spot these guys from a distance with that HUGE crest they have now!

5.Brazil (36)

Fallen from grace have Brazil. Once fighting it out for top ranking they have fallen away. I guess all the glory fans must still be reeling from THAT match in the World Cup.

6. Manchester United (33)

This global brand is still very very strong. Not many sightings yet in Australia but then 3 wins out of 11 league matches this season would put their fans off showing their colours!

7. Real Madrid (28)

A couple of years ago they would have been the top team in this list by miles. But Chelsea and Barcelona have just eclipsed them in recent years. Interestingly of all clubs in this list the away (black) jersey is a lot more popular than the home (white) jersey. Then again Asia is rather dusty and white just gets ruined.

8. Liverpool (27)

Dropping 3 places to 8th (bit like their league form), Liverpool’s numbers have been boosted by a lot of Ex-Pat and Tourist sightings, especially in Vietnam but not too many more since reaching Sydney. Looking at the teams below they might get surpassed in the near future.

9. AC Milan (25)

Almost doubling their score since Bali, the Rossoneri look on the up and up. an AC Milan admirer myself it’s been refreshing to see the Red and Black Striped Jersey so many times. None of the white ones though 😦 – guess I was the only loser to buy that version when it came out.

10. Manchester City (18)

Added 5 more sightings since Bali. The most random encounter with a Man City Jersey was that worn by a small boy in the middle of Gili Meno Island. (Population 400). He even had Edin Dzeko on the back!!

11. Spain (17)

Early exit from this year’s World Cup has hurt their chances of progression in this poll.

Other Notables:

Argentina (16): Just dropping out of the Top 10. The Messi/Aguero Effect is still good enough to push them back into it.
Paris Saint Germain (14): French Tourists (and their kids!)
Holland and Bayern Munich (13): Bundesliga Love-in in Vietnam and Dutch Tourists have swollen these numbers -> hardly any sightings since hitting Australia.

 

Bund vs Bund

Is it the English Premier League or Spain’s La Liga that is tops? How does the Serie A feature in these austere times in Italy? Has the Bundesliga arrived?

Here is the table based on Leagues.

1. English Premier League (England) Score: 173

With 14 distinct Clubs included this makes up the Lion share of all Jersey’s spotted. The numbers do not lie!

2. La Liga (Spain) Score:89

6 Clubs spotted but only Real Madrid and Barcelona in any sort of regularity to make this league a challenger. Needs both more clubs and more sightings – especially from Atletico Madrid (only 1 so far)4

3. Serie A (Italy) Score: 49

5 clubs make up this score but it is the Milan Brothers that are helping the Italian League punch above it’s weight here.

4. Thai Premier League (Thailand) Score: 22

In the long term this placing will fall away, but with 5 Clubs spotted in Northern Thailand the Thai Premier League is currently the 4th Best Supported League we have encountered.

5. Bundesliga (Germany) Score: 21

Dortmund and Bayern Munich are well spotted but they need some help to make the Bundesliga a contender in future. Where are the Leverkusen and Wolfsburg fans?

6. A-League (Australia) Score: 20

NEW ENTRY Expect this League to challenge for top honours. Both Sydney Clubs are well represented with the Central Coast Mariners spotted too.

7. Ligue 1 (France) Score 18

PSG and Lyon give the French a fighting change for a higher position. Needs Marseille and Bordeaux to join the party

Others

Eredivisie (Holland) Score 4 from 2 Clubs

Argentina Primera Division (Argentina) Score 4 from 2 Clubs

English Championship (England) Score 2 from 2 Club – Brentford & Blackburn Rovers

Super Lig (Turkey) Score 2 from 2 Clubs

Scottish Premier League (Scotland) Score 7 from 1 Club – Celtic

Scottish Championship (Scotland) Score 1 from 1 Club – Glasgow Rangers

Major League Soccer (USA) Score 6 from 2 Clubs

League One (England) Score 2 from 1 Club – Sheffield United

Russian Premier League (Russia) Score 2 from 1 Club