Falling in line with what’s been recently revealed for other top teams across Europe, PUMA launch the Borussia Dortmund 21/22 third shirt, which debuted in the 2-1 Champions League group win over Besiktas.

The idea of change strips is exactly that usually: it’s a change from what you usually wear, offering a differential that helps avoid kit clashes. But following in the footsteps of the recent Barcelona third shirt, Borussia Dortmund get a third shirt that closely resembles their usual home shirts – in colour scheme at least. We say that because the rest of the design follows the recent trend that PUMA have established for their third shirts with a simplified look that bucks trends and tradition.

Back when PUMA unveiled their radical new third shirt designs for 10 of its top European teams there were questions regarding Dortmund’s position among the ranks. BVB are, after all, arguably one of the top five teams in the German brand’s roster. Rumour spread that fans had reacted negatively to early designs and so PUMA had to go back to the drawing board. But with its reveal, any changes that have been made are minimal, as the design still follows the same template set out with that earlier release.

It sees the convention of having the club crest on the chest scrapped, instead replacing it with a centralised band of club name – here it’s “BVB 09” – sponsor, and branding. The club crest is then repeated throughout the body of the shirt in what is a subtle, sublimated execution. Blink and you’ll certainly miss it.

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The Borussia Dortmund 21/22 third shirt will be available at prodirectsoccer.com