Germany – THE KIT RAIL

A legend with Die Mannschaft, Andreas Möller has won it all from the World Cup in 1990 to the Champions League in 1997. After starting his career in 1885 with Eintracht Frankfurt, he would move to Borussia Dortmund for just over one million euros. This would be his first spell at Borussia Dortmund where he would leave after his contract expired only winning the DFB-Pokal during his two years before returning to Frankfurt. After leaving Dortmund, Möller would be called up for the Italia 90 World Cup which West Germany would go on to win in the final against Argentina. This would be the last tournament for West Germany before it would be reunified with East Germany.

Credit –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LojMTXmRF8

After leaving Frankfurt for a second time, Möller would this time end up in Italy with a Juventus team that would consist of Roberto Baggio, Paolo Di Canio, David Platt and Antonio Conte. In his first season with The Old Lady Andreas would win the UEFA Cup, beating his previous employers, Borussia Dortmund, 3-1 at the Westfalenstadion and 3-0 at the Stadio delle Alpi with Moller scoring in the second leg.

Juventus came second in the Serie A and quarterfinalists in the UEFA Cup so with Möller being trophyless he would return to Germany with a second stint at Borussia Dortmund where he would go on to win two Bundesliga titles and a Champions League. During the 1994/95 first round of the UEFA Cup, Moller scored the only goal of the first leg when Borussia Dortmund played Motherwell which is where Dortmund would first spot future signing Paul Lambert.

Credit –
https://www.fifa.com/photos/galleries/andreas-moller-germany-2225237#germany-andreas-moller-and-paul-ince-england-challenge-for-the-ball-uefa-1894652

Where Möller is mostly remembered however would be when he scored the decisive penalty against England in the semi-final of Euro 96 as Germany would go on to lift the trophy. Over his career, the German international would be capped eighty-five times for his country, scoring twenty-nine goals.

Euro 96 would be where this Germany home top would be showcased in front of the world. This top has so much detail throughout it, showing off different sizes of the German Football Association logo in vertical stripes. The collar, cuffs and stars above the badge are all in the colours of the Germany flag with a small flag in between in buttons of the shirt. The shirt would not be complete if it were not for the iconic adidas stripes running down each sleeve with the black stripes contrasting along the white shirt. The number seven is not featured on the front of this jersey as this top was used in a German friendly rather than a major tournament as shown in the the photos above.

Paul Lambert – Borussia Dortmund 96′

Scottish midfielder Paul Lambert grew up in Glasgow where he would sign his first professional contract with St Mirren. Lambert would go on to make over two hundred appearances for St Mirren, helping them lift the Scottish Cup in 1987 before making a switch to Motherwell for £250,000.

In his time at Fir Park, Lambert would make one hundred and three appearances over three seasons with four starts in the 94/95 UEFA Cup, after the Well finished third in the league under Alex McLeish, where they were drawn against Faroese side HB Torshavn and more notably German side Borussia Dortmund.

Lambert would leave Motherwell at the end of his contract in the 95/96 season and move to Borussia Dortmund which would be a massive coup for Die Borussen as they would win the UEFA Champions League, eliminating notable opponents such as Auxerre in the quarter finals, Manchester United in the semi-finals and finally Juventus in the final where Dortmund would lift the trophy after a convincing 3-1 victory.

Credit –
https://www.90min.com/posts/3929891-7-british-players-who-succeeded-when-playing-abroad

After just over a year in Germany, Lambert would return to Scotland with a two-million-pound bid coming from Celtic in November 1997. Leaving in November was no issue due to transfer windows not being made compulsory until the 2002-03 season. He would end up playing for the Glasgow side for a total of seven seasons, winning two Scottish Cups, two League Cups and four Scottish Premier League titles. Lambert would also captain his side to the 2003 UEFA Cup Final, losing to a very talented Jose Mourinho Porto team who would go on to lift the Champions League the following season.

This jersey is from Lambert’s second season at the Westfalenstadion where their only trophy would be the Inter-continental Cup, now known as the FIFA Club World Cup. A disappointing league campaignwould see Dortmund finish tenth in the Bundesliga as FC Kaiserslautern lifted their fourth top division title. They were without Lambert for most of this campaign after Lambert left for Scotland. Dortmund also lost the Super Cup to the Winner of the Cup Winners’ Cup, Barcelona, 3-1 on aggregate. They would also be beaten by the other Spanish League giants Real Madrid 2-0 in the semi-finals of the Champions League, Real Madrid would go on to lift the trophy.

While that season may not have been a success for Borussia Dortmund, this jersey is a masterstroke from Nike, mainly due to the yellow and black that makesthis Dortmund kit so instantly recognisable but also from just how simple the kit is. Mainly down to the thin white stripe under the collar neatly separating the black and bold yellow. The black, yellow and grey trim around the collar is also copied around both sleeves with the same grey at the front of the neck forming a ‘Y’ shape keeping everything coordinated and overall a beautiful kit with a beautiful history.