At the age of three, Julian Lechleitner got his first sweaty soccer jersey from a professional. The young Tyrolean now has 118 (!) “matchworn” dresses in his collection.
Others his age collect Matchbox cars, coins or stamps. But 10-year-old Julian Lechleitner from Schönwies is crazy about football. At the latest when Aleksandar Djordjevic, a former SV Horn player, gave him a jersey as a gift, his passion for all things round leather was awakened. The young Tyrolean was just three years old at the time. Impressive collection Since then, the life of the junior striker of FG Schönwies/Mils has revolved around the colorful jerseys of the ball magicians – preferably still bathed in sweat. Because Julian collects so-called “matchworn” jerseys, i.e. the original “underwear” worn by the pros in the game, which you can’t just buy in the fan shop. “In my collection I now have 118 such jerseys, nine pairs of goalie gloves and three pairs of soccer shoes,” says the Oberland proudly. In addition to numerous jerseys from WSG Tirol and Wacker Innsbruck, the 10-year-old has specialized primarily in kits from the Austrian Bundesliga . In the 2019/20 season and in the past season, Julian was even able to get hold of at least one “matchworn” jersey from every single club. But there are also some international treasures now, neatly sorted behind glass frames on the walls of the Lechleitner family’s home. The prospective high school student got, among other things, the warm-up jersey from ex-Real Madrid star Sergio Ramos, even two jerseys from Niklas Süle when he was still playing at Bayern Munich, and the dress from Europa League winner Martin Hinteregger after a match with the Austrians thrown to the national team. Top scorer Vrioni “ennobled” Julian as a brother. Aside from the jerseys, some encounters with the stars also remain unforgettable. “When top scorer Giacomo Vrioni gives Julian the jersey and calls him ‘brother’ or Slovenia’s Žan Rogelj hands him his signed boots because he’s already received the jersey, that’s really something special. The players can remember Julian and of course that makes him very proud,” reveals Papa Dominik, who, like Mama Andrea and sister Leonie, is always there when his son hunts for jerseys in Austria. And what are the insider tips on how to comes to sweaty clothes? “Cheeky, but never pushy,” the Lechleitners smile.
source site-12