“You have shit on your feet…”
Famous quote probably didn’t come from Brehme
February 20, 2024, 4:50 p.m
There is a quote that is often attributed to Andreas Brehme: “You have shit on your feet, you have shit on your feet.” But there is a problem: there is no source for it. And the 1990 world champion himself once said that he doubted that the saying came from him.
For many, Andreas Brehme will forever be remembered for one moment in particular. 1990. The Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Foul penalty. 85th minute. And in the final of the World Cup, Brehme pushed the ball into the bottom left corner. Goal. The DFB team became world champions for the third time thanks to a 1-0 win over Argentina, and Brehme made himself an eternal hero.
But the Hamburg native also made a name for himself off the pitch, especially with his almost philosophical sayings. Something like: “Making the impossible possible becomes an impossibility.” The Brazilians were all “technically skilled”. He once thanked the fans, “on whom we could always rely.” Or: “If the referee gives the penalty, then we could have broken something.”
But a saying that made it out of the football bubble into the wide world still sticks with the two-time German champions with Bayern and Kaiserslautern to this day. There’s only one problem. Because as it is with famous quotes, not all of them actually come from the mouth of the person supposedly quoted. Apparently it was the same with: “You have shit on your feet, you have shit on your feet.”
Four years ago, during a Corona interview series by streaming provider DAZN, Brehme explained that he himself didn’t know where the saying came from. That’s why he once asked the journalists present at a press conference: “Someone should send me when I said that,” he explained: “I’m still waiting for it today.” Because, Brehme continued: With the best of his knowledge, he didn’t know when he said this saying, “and if he did, it was a long time ago.”
And yet, Brehme did have a favorite football saying. It comes from Oliver Kahn. The goalkeeping titan was asked in 2003 after a 2-0 defeat at Schalke what Bayern were missing. He replied: “Eggs, we need eggs!” That too is still a household word today. And, almost even better: “I know from Olli that he said that: Because, that was on TV,” said Brehme, who died unexpectedly this Tuesday at the age of 63.