Almost immediately before the start of the European Championship opening match against Scotland, an unusual scene occurred with the goalkeeper of the DFB team. The reason: the 38-year-old's outfit.
Was the tension before the start of the European Championship at home a factor? At least for Manuel Neuer, things suddenly had to happen very quickly, shortly before kick-off of the opening match against Scotland in Munich.
In fact, referee Clément Turpin was already standing with German captain Ilkay Gündoğan and his Scottish colleague Andy Robertson at the centre circle shortly before kick-off at 9 p.m. when the German national goalkeeper suddenly approached the Frenchman, pointed to his clothing and hurriedly ran off the pitch.
Neuer had made an unusual mistake beforehand: The 38-year-old was wearing a black T-shirt under his bright yellow goalkeeper jersey – but according to official regulations, the underwear must be the same color as the playing kit to ensure a uniform look. So the DFB keeper had to quickly get out and take off the black shirt before the match in the Bavarian capital began.
However, this did not result in a delay: despite the strange glitch, the game was able to kick off without any delay – and Neuer was in the German goal wearing the correct kit. As the game progressed, it became clear what Neuer's “replacement solution” looked like: the goalkeeper simply decided not to wear a shirt under his jersey.
The match against the “Bravehearts” at the start of the home European Championship is already the 120th appearance in the German jersey for Neuer, who made his debut for the DFB team back in 2009.
