Racing Santander hail from the north of Spain. The kit is sponsored by Joma, a Spanish sports brand. The home kit, while mostly white and boring, has a bit of green and some black trim that look good together. I wish I could say I liked their main away kit as much, but I can’t figure out what that wheel thing is. Maybe someone could explain it to me, but even if they did I can’t see why they had to put it on the uniform. The crest for Racing is fun I suppose—but why does a team feel compelled to put a picture of a flag on a crest? I think it works better the other way around.

Real Betis. I’m a little torn about this one, made by Kappa. While I am happy to support more unique color choices, the Betis home kit is slightly underwhelming despite all the crazy green stripes. The away kit has some cool colors that one does not see in uniforms too much. The team logo for Betis is over-elaborate for my taste. I feel like I should like them more than I do, but they are still pretty good.

Real Betis home

Real Betis away

Real Madrid. Just about anybody that follows world soccer knows about this club, their numerous titles, the money the club makes hand over fist, and the dozens of football greats that have put on their all-white kit through the decades. Just like the big clubs of England, this kit is also dulled by the weight of its history. All white, adidas, and boring. The away kit is not much better. All navy blue. I can’t say that I’m impressed by the aesthetics of it all but don’t get me wrong. When you see Los Blancos on the pitch you know you’re in the big time. An interesting crest, with the blue stripe representing the forgotten Castillian bloodline—as weighty and imposing as the team.

Real Murcia. Fresh from the second division, it appears that Murcia’s time in the top flight will be limited. While there are only a few points separating the 18th spot and the 11th, there is a gulf between the 18th and 19th. I could only find teeny tiny images to show off the jerseys. Home kit here; all red, and insipid. Away kit? I like green and all, but this shade of fluorescent mint is a bit much. The best part about the team is the crest . Not content to just have a crown on top, they have seven more baby crowns. They should win a prize for that.

Real Valladolid. Holy purple Batman! This side, new to the top flight this season, brings the color purple with them. Glad that Puma is representing them. The home kit is purple and white vertical stripes. The away jersey is all purple with a bit of white. The crest is interesting, swords, shields, the town crest split with the clubs and some leaves and berries around it. Busy.

Real Valladolid home

Real Valladolid away

Real Zaragoza used to be sponsored by Lotto. I could not stand their old uniform from the 06/07 campaign. I like the current Adidas ones a lot more but that’s not to say that the home kit looks a heck of a lot like the Real Madrid home kit. I do like the crest, but it’s not quite as cool as the other loin crest of Osasuna.

Recreativo. Just like other leagues, there is clearly not a dearth of striped blue and white kits in La Liga. Here is the inoffensive, somewhat dull home kit. As for the away kit, I will attempt to describe just how ugly it is: very. Some sort of half magenta-half black phased in combo thing. Holy crap. Here is another pic. Hideous. The team's crest has no outstanding appeal either.

Sevilla, sponsored by Joma, these uniforms are moderately interesting, even though I never really go for the mostly white home uniforms. While maroon is never my first color of choice, the away kit overcomes my prejudice. Thank goodness they got rid of the kits from last season —it’s like someone woke up one day and thought they should try and resuscitate the lame fashion trends of 1989. It was some maniac at Joma—they foisted the ‘splattered paint brush’ look on other teams too, like Costa Rica.

Sevilla home

Sevilla away

Valencia had almost become a regular in some form of European competition but they have fallen on hard times as of late. Somewhat indicative of their status as a ‘bigger’ club of world football they are sponsored by Nike. Home kit is all white with orange trim. I like the orange, but it does little to merit purchase. The away kit is cooler—bright flaming orange. Gotta love that…but I can’t say it’s “LOVE” love. I just love that jersey as a friend. One of the reasons I bring up team crests is the life-affirming badge of Valencia. They have a friggin’ bat on a shield. That rules. I know the Catalan shield is below that—which is great and all, but come on! A bat! Awesome

Villarreal. I think their nickname (The Yellow Submarine) is kind of dumb but I respect the jersey—in a ‘good’ bad kind of way. The kits, manufactured by Puma, are bright freakin’ yellow, but that’s kind of cool. The away kit, all blue, is dull. Like the kits, the team's crest is not all that stunning. Catalan colors, a crown and VCF. It’s not bad, but it’s not good either. Sort of an interesting sponsor: Aeroport Castello —an airport! Interesting.

Kit Aesthetics is a column by Chris Ketcham about football kits - the good, the bad and the (very) ugly. He can be contacted at chris.ketcham@gmail.com.