The football saying of the year comes from referee Deniz Aytekin. The referee from TSV Altenberg prevailed at the gala for the German Football Culture Prize 2023 in Nuremberg with his saying about Jamal Musiala from FC Bayern Munich: “When Musiala pulls in and takes 60 to 70 from you on 80 meters, you think differently about yours life after.”
The audience voted for Aytekin’s statement and in the final round of voting decided against a banner from Freiburg fans marking the end of striker Nils Petersen’s career: “Nobody is bigger than the club. But you were damn close.” A total of around 160 citations were submitted, eleven of which were ultimately nominated.
Award for Aytekin “a special honor”
“It’s a special honor,” said Aytekin after his award. The 45-year-old said the saying to Munich’s Thomas Müller during FC Bayern’s 6-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt in the opening game of the 2022/2023 Bundesliga season.
The prize, which has been awarded by the academy since 2006, is endowed with 5,000 euros for a charitable purpose. National player Lena Oberdorf delivered the football slogan of the year 2022. The European vice-champion said on the occasion of the successful European Championship in England in July a year ago: “Women’s football, men’s football. It’s one football.”
As had already been announced in advance, Bundesliga record player Karl-Heinz Körbel received the Walther Bensemann Prize. According to the German Academy for Football Culture, this honors “people from contemporary history” who have achieved “outstanding achievements for football”.
The fan prize as an award for positive fan culture went to “CFC Fans Against Racism” from Chemnitz. The football book of the year came from Christoph Biermann (“At any price. The true story of modern football from 1992 to today”).