Bonn (Germany), May 27 (IANS) Soviet-born German football player Roman Neustaedter will show up at Russia's consulate general here on Friday to pick up his Russian passport, the diplomatic mission has said.
"At the moment he is with Russias national team in Switzerland, getting ready for the European Cup Finals. Tomorrow he will have a morning training session he cannot miss. Then he will be taken to the airport. He will fly to Bonn and come to our office right away. In a special ceremony the consul will hand over his Russian passport to him," the consulate-general said on Thursday, reports Tass.
On Wednesday, it was announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to grant Russian citizenship to Schalkes midfielder Roman Neustaedter. The player was invited to join the Russian national team ahead of the European Cup finals.
Neustaedter was born in Dnipropetrovsk, Soviet Ukraine, back in 1988. In the first half of the 1990s his family moved to Germany. His aunt and grandmother are in Russia.
His father, Pyotr Neustaedter, is remembered by the senior generation of Russian fans as a leading player of several top league Soviet clubs.
