The 11 best German football quotes of the 2017/18 season
Here are the 11 German sayings that are in the running to be named football quote of the year by the German Academy of Football Culture.
1. "It seems to me that we fight more against pyrotechnics than against racism."
- Kevin-Prince Boateng
The former Eintracht Frankfurt player questions the priorities in the football world.
2. "The Swedes are like the people in their mid-thirties at the disco - standing in the back and waiting for something to happen."
- Thomas Hitzlsperger
The former German international on the Swedish playing style in the match against Germany at the World Cup.
3. "Please stay in your seats at half-time - you could miss a goal!"
- Banner by SC Freiburg fans
A banner shown by SC Freiburg fans as a response to a VAR decision that gave Mainz a penalty after the referee had blown his whistle for half-time.
4. "Ambitious fans are looking for a motivated team"
- Banner by VfL Wolfsburg fans
A banner shown by VfL Wolfsburg fans last season as a protest against the mentality of the team's players.
5. "Video referee, we don't know where your car is!"
- Banner by Werder Bremen fans
A banner shown by Werder Bremen fans that questions the lack of transparency in regard to the use of the video referee.
6. "Great! One goal scored, one assisted."
- Tweet by Felix Kroos
Felix Kroos commented on his brother Toni Kroos' performance in the World Cup match against Sweden in which the Real Madrid star scored the winning goal in injury team, but also initiated the Swedish goal after a mistake.
7. "Wäre, wäre, Fahrradkette."
- Lothar Matthäus
'Hätte, hätte, Fahrradkette" is a common German expression meaning 'should have, could have, would have', but the Sky pundit and former German international messed it up a little.
8. "Just like when you're promoted from the Kreissklasse, just maybe a little more subdued."
- Thomas Müller
The Bayern München star on the celebrations following the victory in Augsburg after the Bavarians secured the championship after just 29 games.
9. "To put it bluntly, I've been growing stupid for ten years, but I keep myself afloat, because I can kick a ball pretty well."
- Nils Petersen
The Freiburg striker about the superficial football industry.
10. "Brother, hit a long ball" (Bruder, schlag den Ball lang!)
- Ante Rebic (retold by Kevin-Prince Boateng)
After Eintracht Frankfurt's DFB-Pokal final win over Bayern München, Kevin-Prince Boateng revealed what his teammate Ante Rebic told him before the game in his somewhat broken German.
11. "This is not slow motion. These are real pictures."
- Béla Réthy
The ZDF commentator during Germany's World Cup match against Korea Republic.
Read more:
5 legendary quotes about German football