Football shirt collectors have a lot to thank John Devlin for.
His lovingly compiled books True Colours and True Colours 2 chronicled the football shirts of England's leading clubs and their attention to detail thrilled enthusiasts.
In many ways, Devlin legitimized collecting football shirts as not so much a hobby as an obsession. With the authority of an academic text, these books became the bible for collectors and the illustrations were things of beauty.
So with the World Cup around the corner, it's the perfect time for Devlin to release his latest epic work: International Football Kits - The Illustrated Guide. Bigger in format that the True Colours books, this "exploration of the kit designs of the major national teams" is so much more than that.
Last year, the appreciation of the football shirt as a piece of design reached its peak when Neal Heard curated the Art of the Football Shirt exhibition in London. Heard, a respected author and authority on sportswear culture had also published a book eulogising the glory of the football shirt - A Lover's Guide To Football Shirts, later republished as The Football Shirts Book.
Online retro football shirts specialists Classic Football Shirts also staged exhibitions in Manchester and London showing off some of their favourite kits and even opened a pop-up shop as the craze for retro sportswear gathered pace.
This summer, several football teams will wear 90s-influenced kits at the World Cup and the thirst for 80s and 90s sportswear design has never been greater. Take a look in high street sports stores and you'll be blinded by the vivid neon colours of the 90s - Champion t-shirts and logo print t-shirts. The Nike Air Max 97 and 98 trainers are everywhere again.
The book charts the evolution of international teams' kits from 1966 to the present day, using more than 1,300 perfectly presented designs. Apart from bringing back memories of some real classic designs, it's also a reminder of some proper dogs' dinners too.
Each illustration is accompanied with a description and a reminder of which players wore the kit with distinction ... or otherwise. More than just a reference book, it's a trigger for long-buried memories of watching low-wattage World Cup group games and a reminder of those shirts you once coveted or maybe owned.
National shirts have a cache not normally applied to club kits. Without the burden of a sponsor, these kits can take on a life of their own as the classic yellow and green of Brazil proves or the red of England worn in the World Cup Final of 1966.
Devlin, one of the nicest guys you'd ever wish to meet, explains: "Thanks to the massive media interest around the World Cup and other major international tournaments, sportswear companies now use these events as shop windows to launch and show off their next range of styles.
"Most teams will be wearing a brand new kit whenever these feasts of football kick off and versions of the designs will then be rolled out domestically the following season.
"An international football kit must not only capture the identity of the team; it also needs to represent the identity of the nation. That's a tall order, creating a massive responsibility for the companies behind the strips: the greatest teams in the world should have the greatest kits."
Only time will tell which of this batch of World Cup kits will go on to achieve legendary status. Everyone seems to have a crush on the new Nigeria design while Denmark's return to Hummel has pleased a lot of people too. Or maybe it will be the Mexican away kit which will go down in history.
- International Football Kits - The Illustrated Guide by John Devlin is published by Bloomsbury, RRP £20.
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