“Little love, little heart”
Did Joshua Kimmich deliver the best football saying of the year?
September 13, 2023, 10:09 a.m
Every year, football produces a wealth of bon mots – some of them deliberate, some of them rather involuntary. The nominees for the football saying of the year include stars and referees, cultural criticism and declarations of love.
Criticism of the football business, strange comparisons or the controversial World Cup in Qatar: The eleven quotes for the football saying of 2023 revolve around different topics. One of the nominees is national player Joshua Kimmich with a saying about his former coach Julian Nagelsmann’s leave of absence from FC Bayern Munich: “At the end of the day, that’s the deal: little love, little heart.” Referee Deniz Aytekin is also there with a quote to Bayern professional Jamal Musiala: “When Musiala picks up and takes 60 to 70 from you over 80 meters, you think about your life differently.”
The other candidates include Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzić, the comedian Carolin Kebekus, an amateur footballer and fans of SC Freiburg with a banner to their ex-player Nils Petersen: “Nobody is bigger than the club. But you were damn close your turn.”
The sayings were nominated by a twelve-person jury including last year’s winner Lena Oberdorf and Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth. Next, an online vote will determine two final verdicts; voting is open until September 20th German Academy for Football Culture possible. The winner will then be determined by audience vote at a gala on October 27th in Nuremberg.
The eleven nominated sayings:
- “As a child, I thought it was forbidden to be a fan of a club from another city.” (Comedian Carolin Kebekus)
- “At the end of the day, that’s the deal: little love, little heart.” (Joshua Kimmich from FC Bayern Munich after coach Julian Nagelsmann’s leave of absence)
- “Unlike in the circus, the clowns sit in the stands.” (TV commentator Christian Straßburger during the broadcast of the World Cup with the introduction of FIFA President Gianni Infantino)
- “The question is: What was there more, the Franconian pessimism or 1. FC Nürnberg?” (Fadi Keblawi, sports editor “Nürnberger Nachrichten/Nürnberger Zeitung”)
- “For me, a counter-attack goal is like a hard riff from AC/DC.” (Trainer Torsten Lieberknecht)
- “A signal that you only send when you don’t have to fear any consequences from it is not a signal.” (ZDF presenter Jochen Breyer via Twitter)
- “Football is my hobby. If I want to earn money, I go to work.” (A-class striker Sebastian Zeitler from VfB Wölbattendorf on the temptations of paid football)
- “I’m sure the boys can buy anything they want. The next car. The next expensive vacation. The next house. But what they can’t buy is this moment of coming to the stadium next week. ” (Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzić before the last Bundesliga game of the season, which BVB went into as league leaders)
- “Nobody is bigger than the club. But you were damn close.” (SC Freiburg fans on a banner at the last home game, directed at striker Nils Petersen)
- “When the Musiala picks up and takes 60 to 70 from you at 80 meters, you think about your life differently.” (Referee Deniz Aytekin)
- “If you’re outnumbered by two people, it’s kind of like when you’re driving in a parking garage and suddenly there’s a lot of space. Then you don’t know which parking space to take.” (Marius Müller from FC Schalke 04 on the game against 1. FC Kaiserslautern, in which Schalke ended up with 11 against 9 after two dismissals)