Kicker accessory for Emre Can and Co.
That’s why football stars suddenly love handbags
Even national player Emre Can does not go to the stadium without a luxury toiletry bag.
© IMAGO/Eibner
Football players are increasingly arriving at the stadium with elegant men’s handbags. A former national player reveals what’s behind the trend.
The days when football professionals arrived for their European Championship matches in shapeless polyester tracksuits, grotesque mullet hairstyles and strange moustaches are long gone. Since the turn of the millennium at the latest, it has been observed that top international footballers have increasingly placed more importance on their appearance. Footballers have never been as beautiful as they are today – and never have so many been seen wearing luxurious men’sHandbags.
The triumph of the footballer’s toiletry bag
In addition to elaborately shaved hairstyles and large tattoos, certain lifestyle accessories have also found their way into the world of football, which old-school footballers would have turned up their noses at in disdain: More and more top players carry small bag-shaped containers under their arms on the way from the team bus to the stadium, which can be called a men’s handbag, toiletry bag or even a toiletry bag, depending on your preference.
Branded toiletry bag as a luxury phenomenon
The fact that these trendy accessories are increasingly coming from expensive luxury brands is of course also a clear indication of constantly rising player salaries. As the magazine “Kicker” reportedIn 2017, Brazilian soccer star Filipe Luis (38) was already furious about this ostentatious new trend in an interview with the Spanish newspaper “El Mundo”.
There he complained: “80 percent of the players live in a bubble. Especially the young ones who try to imitate their idols. They think that if they walk around with a branded toiletry bag under their arm, 400-euro shoes and eight tattoos, they are stars and that people will respect them because of that. They forget the real world.”
Former international player reveals handbag secret
In a recent interview with “RTL” Former German international Thomas Brdarić (49), who played for the DFB team between 2002 and 2004 and is now a coach for the Kuwaiti club al-Arabi, revealed what he believes is important to the younger generation of players when choosing their handbags – and what they actually carry in them. “The contents were always individual, of course. Toothbrush, perfume, a cream, lucky charm and wallet,” said Brdarić.
Nowadays, of course, the mobile phone that is always with you also ends up in these handbags, whereas in the past it was “more of a camera” with which one documented one’s sporting experiences for the family. However, his previous experience with young players has shown: “The interesting thing was not the content, but above all the brand. Whether Louis Vuitton, Prada or Gucci. That’s what everyone was aiming for.”