BVB striker Niclas Füllkrug gets his first start against Wolfsburg – and surprises with a piquant detail in his equipment.

Niclas Füllkrug had already finished his working day, the striker sat on the substitutes’ bench after his substitution and watched how his still quite new club Borussia Dortmund got the 1:0 (0:0) working victory against VfL Wolfsburg over time.

And Füllkrug did what players do on a substitute’s bench: he adjusted his socks. And green and white shin pads with the inscription “Fülle” and the number 11 appeared – and, although half of them were taped off with yellow tape, with the unmistakable logo of Werder Bremen. The striker was thus still wearing the logo of his old club, which he had left for Dortmund at the end of August, a move worth around 15 million euros in transfer fees to BVB.

Füllkrug was relaxed about it, after the game he willingly took out the pads and showed them to the waiting journalists. “I feel comfortable with them, they have adapted well to my shins over the last few years,” he explained. So why dare to try something new when the old one still fits? “The shin pads are already really tattered and worn out,” Füllkrug continued. But: “I see no reason to replace them if they still work.”

The striker is still without a goal of his own – and was hardly in the game against Wolfsburg in his first starting appearance. He lacked commitment, the ability to score – and the necessary technique to process a brilliant pass from Mats Hummels in the penalty area.

Perhaps it will soon be time for a new pair of shin pads in the right colour – BVB’s black and yellow. However, Füllkrug would have to change the numbering slightly, because in Dortmund he wears number 14. 11, which he still wore in Bremen, is reserved for the eternal Marco Reus, who is currently doing better with scoring goals – he scored the goal of the day against Wolfsburg.