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Hungary’s goalkeeper makes big Euro 2016 saves in a pair of sweatpants

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June 18, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. EDT

A late own goal lifted Hungary to a 1-1 draw against Iceland at Euro 2016 on Saturday, keeping the underdog Hungarians on top of Group F and making passage to the knockout rounds a realistic possibility. That’s a joyous thing, because Hungary has this guy in goal:

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That’s goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly, who at age 40 is the oldest player ever to appear in a European Championship game. He might also be the most stylish.

Yes, Kiraly is wearing sweatpants, and no, it’s not because he left his shorts in the wash. Kiraly sports the sweats for the same reason you’re wearing a pair while reading this article right now. They’re just downright comfy. From Sky Sports:

“I’m a goalie, not a top model!” he told Hungarian publication Lo Journal Francophone de Budapest.
“It’s essentially a question of comfort. I’ve played on clay or grass that’s been frozen in winter; it makes your legs hurt when you fall so jogging bottoms seemed obvious.
“I always take a size above to facilitate movement.
“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.”

Of course, Kiraly hasn’t always rocked grey sweatpants on the pitch. He used to wear black ones, but then a grey pair sparked a win streak and there was no turning back. From the Guardian:

Initially he wore black ones – he liked having tracksuit trousers on rough surfaces – until before one game Haladas did not have any clean pairs. So Kiraly put on grey ones, the team won, and they did not lose in the next eight games. Haladas stayed in the first division and the goalkeeper stuck with the colour. The original grey pair – used well over 100 times – is hanging in his wardrobe with plenty of tears and holes.
“Some of my clubs had to ask their manufacturer to make the grey bottoms for me because they did not have it in their collection but at 1860 Munich they were sold in the club shop as Kiraly’s jogging bottoms,” he said. “The most important thing is that they should be loose, preferably one size bigger.”

It appears those sweet, filthy grey rags are having a similar effect on his national team. Kiraly kept a “clean” sheet in Hungary’s surprise 2-0 win over Austria on Tuesday, then held his own in Saturday’s draw with Iceland. Up next is Wednesday’s meeting with Portugal, which will attempt to counter Kiraly’s sweatpants aesthetic with its very antithesis:

Please, PLEASE take note of the high socks rolled over the pants. It is very important that you do.

And if you look like a bald dad goofing around in the backyard, you better play like one, too.

Twitter is obviously having a field day with this guy.

Yep, Steph Curry might finally have found the perfect pitchman for those new kicks.

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