Austria and Hungary are about to clash at Euro 2016, and rather than ruminate upon the rise and decline of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, we here at Balls.ie decided to focus on the main narrative surrounding the game: Gabor Kiraly's tracksuit bottoms.
Kiraly is the main flag bearer for tracksuit keepers in the modern era but sadly, this realisation that this great phenomenon is dying a slow death.
So we've been taking a look at some of the great ambassadors for tracksuit bottoms over the years, examining what kind of players they were and why they chose to don the long pants.
Gabor Kiraly
The great Gabor Kiraly became only the second Hungarian player to win 100 caps in their recent playoff triumph over Norway. If he makes it to the Euros, he'll become the oldest player to ever tog out in the tournament, overtaking the great Lothar Matthäus.
However impressive his career may be, Kiraly will be remembered for only one thing: his trusty grey tracksuit bottoms. Whilst every other tracksuit wearing keeper chooses to wear tight black leggings, Kiraly has chosen to don a pair of loose grey ones throughout his career, leaving him looking like a teenage girl at a slumber party with a tub of Ben and Jerry's.
Speaking before the playoffs Kiraly lifted the lid on his controversial fashion choice.
I'm a goalie, not a top model! I tried shorts during my spells in Germany and England but it didn't suit me. The end result is more important than your look.
I always take a size above to facilitate movement
Massimo Taibi
Manchester United splashed out a massive £4.5 million on Massimo Taibi in 1999 as they searched for a replacement for Peter Schmeichel.
The Italian stopper only made four appearances for United and was so terrible that his decision to wear the controversial pants was largely overlooked.
After a string of sketchy performances his coup de grâce came against Southampton where he let a tame Matt Le Tissier shot trickle through both his arms and his legs before rolling slowly into his net.
His career at Old Trafford came to an end soon after and he went down in history as one of the clubs worst ever keepers.
Memorably referred to as the Blind Venetian by Paul Howard/Roy Keane's dog in Triggs.
Rene Higuita
The crazy Colombian made himself a household name in 1995 when he decided to save a Jamie Redknapp shot by deploying a scorpion kick.
The save has gone down in history as one of football's most memorable moments and if there was ever a keeper born to wear tracksuit bottoms it was this guy.
Higuita had a reputation for being a bit of a madman both on and off the field, he was alleged to have ties with Pablo Escobar and he even served time in prison at the start of the 90's.
Although he made a small number of appearances in shorts, he was best remembered for his classic tight black goalie pants.
Dmitri Kharine
Russian stopper Kharine clearly had a liking for obscure fashion. Not only did he sport the classic black football pants but he also liked to pair them with a brightly coloured monstrosity of a jersey.
Despite his sketchy appearance Kharine was actually quite decent in nets for Chelsea, which is a lot more than the rest of his tracksuit amigo's here can say.
Unfortunately his legacy there is tarnished by a woeful performance in the 1994 FA Cup final where the West London club were thumped 4-0 by Manchester United.
Helton
Porto keeper Helton is the last remaining high profile player to don the classic black tracksuit pants and he'll become the flag bearer once Kiraly retires.
Quite why Helton chooses to wear bottoms is beyond me, he plays his football in Portugal where it's hot pretty much all the time, and the pitches in the Portuguese league would be well conditioned meaning it wouldn't be an issue of dry ground.
Whatever his reason is it's certainly working for him, the Brazilian is currently the captain of Porto and he's appeared over 200 times for the Portuguese giants.
