VFL Bochum Home Shirt Nike 2018-19 Vintage | CRONE

VFL Bochum 2018-19 — The Nike Home Shirt from their return to 2. Bundesliga

In 2018-19, VFL Bochum competed for another season in the 2. Bundesliga with a clear objective: to secure promotion spots and return to the top flight. This Nike home shirt, flocked with the name CRONE on the back, is a raw piece from that rebuilding period, stained with the sweat of matches — and that's precisely why it's worth something.

Shirt Details

Season: 2018-2019
Club: VFL Bochum
Type: Home
Kit Manufacturer: Nike
Sponsor: TRICORP WORKWEAR
Condition: 8/10
State: SPOT — slight visible mark, authentic wear of a worn vintage shirt

What This Shirt Represents

In 2018-19, VFL Bochum had been playing in the German second division for several seasons already — a purgatory for a club that had reached the heights of the Bundesliga and even European nights in the 90s and 2000s. The club from the Vonovia Ruhrstadion was going through a rebuilding phase, with a squad mainly composed of local players, 2. Liga warriors, and a few young talents ready to fight. It is this tension between a glorious past and a difficult present that gives this 2018-19 Nike home shirt all its emotional weight.

On the bench and on the field, the 2018-19 season was marked by coach Robin Dutt, who arrived to stabilize the ship. Players like Simon Zoller, a potent striker familiar with the 2. Bundesliga, and midfielder Robert Tesche, a key figure in the Bochum dressing room, wore this shirt with the pride of those who know what this club means to the Ruhr. The CRONE flocking on the back of this shirt directly refers to these unsung heroes who play the matches without necessarily making the headlines.

Moments Etched in This Shirt

A Club Rooted in the Ruhr
VFL Bochum embodies the DNA of German working-class football. Founded in 1848, the club has always represented the people of the Ruhr basin, an identity that cannot be bought and that this shirt proudly displays.

The 2. Bundesliga as a Battleground
The 2018-19 season in the German second division is one of Europe's most competitive leagues — every point earned at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion in front of Bochum's loyal supporters deserves respect. This shirt has experienced those battles.

TRICORP WORKWEAR: A Sponsor That Fits the Club
The sponsor TRICORP WORKWEAR, a specialist in workwear, is not on the kit of a Ruhr club by chance. It's a nod to the region's industrial history, a coherence between the field and the stands that true connoisseurs appreciate.

Authentic vs Replica

An authentic vintage shirt is not a replica shirt sold in club shops. It is a piece designed for performance, with finishes, materials, and a cut intended for players — not for wearing in the stands on a Sunday afternoon. Logos are sewn or printed using techniques specific to the era, labels are period-correct, and the whole shirt exudes authenticity in every inch.

This one is rated 8/10 with a SPOT condition: it has a slight mark, which is perfectly consistent for a worn vintage shirt of this generation. It's not a shirt that came out of a sealed box — it's a shirt that has lived, and that's precisely what gives it character. If you're looking for a sterile shirt, move along. If you're looking for the real deal, you're in the right place.

Vintage Size Guide

Vintage Nike shirts from this era are sized differently from current standards. An XL from 2018-19 does not correspond to an XL of today — the fit is generally more tailored, less oversized, with higher armholes and a closer-to-the-body drape than modern relaxed fits. Keep this in mind before confirming your order.

The right approach: get out a tape measure before buying. Measure your chest circumference and compare it with the flat measurements of the shirt, which we can provide upon request. A shirt that pulls at the shoulders or rides up at the waist is frustrating — two minutes of measuring can prevent unpleasant surprises and unnecessary returns.

Why Have It in Your Collection

VFL Bochum is not a club everyone collects — and that's precisely why a vintage Bochum shirt has value in a serious collection. Major clubs are overrepresented in every display cabinet. A shirt from the Ruhr, from a specific 2. Bundesliga season, with a named flocking and a sponsor as iconic as TRICORP — that's rare. It's the kind of piece that makes connoisseurs stop in front of your shelf.

In 8/10 condition, this shirt remains in a very solid state for its age and use. There aren't many in this condition on the market for vintage German football shirts — and even fewer with intact period flocking. If you're waiting for it to be perfect, you'll be waiting a long time. And someone else will have taken it.

To Learn More

• VFL Bochum — Wikipedia
• Football Kit Archive — Kit History
• UEFA — European Football

A shirt from the Ruhr, period flocking, a real story behind it — if VFL Bochum speaks to you, this piece deserves a place in your collection.