My German International and Lothar Matthäus Football Shirt Collection - CyLee

Hong Kong based CyLee is an passionate football shirt collector with a jaw dropping array of DFB shirts and an affinity for all things Lothar Matthäus.

Why do you collect Lothar Matthäus shirts?

I watched a TV show about German football in the run up to Italia '90, it showed a number of DFB's best ever World Cup games, including the 1954 World Cup final, their match against Italy in the 1970 World Cup, 1982 World Cup vs France and more. It showed me the spirit of the German team and players and it really made me start to appreciate them.

When the 1990 World Cup came around there was only one team I wanted to win and I began to idolise their captain. I had to have that shirt. I soon started to buy the German jerseys and almost all of those that I bought had Lothar Matthäus's name on the back.

My shirt buying has changed greatly since then, I look for matchworn shirts, I look back on the team, the match the shirt was worn and the player who wore it but I still find myself looking for Lothar's shirts more than any other player's!

How many shirts do you have in your collection?

I now have over 100 matchworn or match issue DFB shirts, my oldest is from 1957 and they range right up to this season! Over 20 of those shirts are worn by or issued to Lothar Matthäus, I also have a number of rare one of shirts, training kits and goalkeeper jerseys that are highly sought after by other collectors.

I only buy shirts that were issued to players who I really like and who played a big part in the international team now.

What was your first shirt and when did you buy it?

My mother bought me the home shirt worn at the 1990 World Cup, I watched their games from that tournament while wearing it, it's in a children's size and I still have it!

Which shirts do you consider to be your favourites from your collection?

That's a really difficult question to answer! I would have to split them up into three groups.

The first group of pictures I have chosen are my oldest shirts.

I have a 1957-1959 matchworn home shirt, the shirt was produced by manufacturer ‘Leuzela’ who manufactured the shirts worn from 1950-1963. It is without doubt one of my rarest shirts and was one of the first shirts the side wore during the period they only represented the Western region of the country. It really is a piece of DFB history!

My 1970 match Issue home shirt has to be mentioned too, the shirt was produced by Umbro and represents a glorious era in German football. Umbro produced both round-neck and V-neck jerseys during this period but the V-neck shirts were definitely the most special.

The second group is made up of the shirts worn from 1988 to 1990.

I have Lothar's matchworn shirt worn when Germany took on Holland in the round of 16, the match is known for Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Völler's famous altercation.

I also have Pierre Littbarski's away shirt from the same tournament, the away shirt has many different forms and this is probably my favourite. The shirt was produced specifically for the World Cup and was only worn against England. The material, colour and collar are all slightly different from other models of the shirt, while the DFB badge and 'ITALIA 90' are embroidered directly on the jersey.

The third group is the shirt worn by Lothar Matthäus for his cap and at his first World Cup.

My 1980 Home shirt issued to Lothar vs Greece is the same shirt that he made his debut in. The shirt was made by Erime, in the first game the manufacturer's logo was covered with white material, the shirts for the remaining games didn't have the manufacturers logo on them at all!

I also have Matthäus's shirt that was issued to him for West Germany's game vs England at the 1982 World Cup, this was the first World Cup that Lothar played in.

Finally, I have a number of matchworn club shirts worn by Matthäus that I have to include.

• I have a 1982-83 VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach matchworn shirt, this was Lothar Matthäus’s first club.
• My 1988-89 Inter Milan matchworn shirt, Lothar spent four seasons with the Italian giants.
• The 2000-01 FC Bayern Munich away shirt worn by Matthäus, this shirt is especially important to me as it has the text "Servus Lothar" on the back of the jersey to mark his final game with the club.
• Lothar's final professional club was the New York Metrostars, I managed to pick up this Home shirt from the year 2000 that he wore during his time there, he only played in New York for a handful of months and barely wore this shirt making it very rare!

What is the shirt you would like most in your collection?

I would love to add some more ancient international shirts dating back to the 30's and 40's but I think that would be too difficult to ever manage! Apart from that I still want an Lothar Matthäus matchworn shirts from any World Cup or European Championships!

What are your future plans for your collection?

Through social media I have made some great friends in the football shirt world, most have been from Germany, they've helped me understand the shirts in different ways and have shown me some real gems of their own. I have also been to visit the private football museum in Germany and made friends with the people who ran it. This has pushed me to start writing a book on German football and the national shirt so I can share my knowledge of it with the people of Hong Kong. When I am out and about taking pictures of my collection now there are a lot of perplexed faces when they see what I am doing, I'd love to have something to show them to help them understand what it is that I do!

If you would like to see more of CyLee's collection, follow him on Instagram here

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