Umbro - Scotland 2008 Home Football Shirt 'D.FLETCHER'

This Scotland 2008 home shirt was made by Diadora and features Darren Fletcher’s #7 nameset together with 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers sleeve detailing. Introduced in August 2008, the shirt was worn during Scotland’s qualification campaign for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and comes from the latter years of Scotland’s long partnership with Italian manufacturer Diadora. 

Scotland entered the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign under George Burley in a group containing the Netherlands, Norway, Macedonia and Iceland. They ultimately finished third behind the Netherlands and Norway and missed qualification for South Africa. The squad featured Fletcher alongside Craig Gordon, Scott Brown, James McFadden, Kenny Miller, Alan Hutton and Gary Caldwell.

Fletcher was already established at Manchester United and becoming increasingly influential for his country. In October 2008, at the age of 24, he was handed the captain’s armband for Scotland’s World Cup qualifier against Norway at Hampden Park, which was also his 40th international appearance. It was not his first experience as captain: Fletcher had previously captained Scotland against Estonia in 2004 at just 20 years old, making him the country’s youngest captain for more than a century at the time.

For collectors, the combination of Fletcher #7, World Cup qualifying sleeve detailing and the understated Diadora design makes this a strong Scotland shirt from the late 2000s. Fletcher would go on to earn 80 caps for his country, while this shirt captures him during the period in which he was developing into one of Scotland’s senior figures alongside his increasingly important role in Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United midfield.

Shirt condition: 8/10