The uniform is the most enduring and definitive symbol of the team. That is why plastering them with sponsorship and adverts is almost sacrilege.

Some strips are iconic, such as Juventus' or Liverpool's. Some are awful, like Bologna's. Here we present a countdown of the 20 best socks in world football at the moment.

The Russian Premier League club Amkar may have struggled in the last few years, but red and black is always a winner.

Sporting has almost always worn the green-and-white stripes. They still have them on their socks. That's cool.

Crimson and yellow is distinctively Galatasaray. If only there were more yellow in the sock.

Brazilian football is better known for its international side than its clubs. Palmeiras came 10th in the league last year. Now you know.

Baby blue and a Goose Gossage moustache on the front? Win, I guess.

Brazilian clubs tend to have fairly dull and uninspired kits. There is a lot of all-white and all-black. Not here. Flamengo have discovered the colour red, too.

Delia Smith is incredibly annoying but her team has a wicked kit.

Blue-and-white stripes are pretty unusual. Now QPR are in the Premier League, though, so they must be working.

The green-and-white shirts are awesome. Overall it's a good kit.

The Birmingham outfit rock the magenta/baby blue mix. But why the white shorts?

The Magpies' strip is iconic. The socks are nice too.

Without doubt, the coolest socks ever worn by a team named after trains.

Other teams do the all-white thing, but none has carried it off better than Real Madrid.

Okay, so it's not their home strip but there, is something old about Man U's white away kit. Also, the socks are nice.

The defending Serie A champions have historically had a nice kit. They still do.

Bright yellow is cool.

Similar to that of Sporting's, the Scottish Cup champions Celtic pull it off better than the Portuguese side.

Admittedly, these are not as awesome as the rest of the kit but red, blue and gold are always a good mix.

Solid yellow is epic.

The solid pink tops are bold. The pink and black socks are just cool.