Carnival and football: "I'm being followed by a car!"

6. Ewald Lienen , the spoilsport. Because his team (in this case, Cologne) was once again fighting against relegation, the coach summarily banned all carnival celebrations for his players. Quote: "Anyone who dares to go out on Weiberfastnacht (Women's Carnival Day) doesn't need to show up here again!" And: "Anyone who gets drunk can pick up their papers on Friday!"

7. Lothar Matthäus

An ugly spat between Germany and England: Because the footballer presented David Beckham as a "Posh Spice garter belt model" in an "unusually cheeky" (quote: Hamburger Morgenpost ) manner at Carnival 2000, the Sun simply doctored a photo of Lothar Matthäus as Nora Batty, the English version of Else Kling (see: Lindenstraße). And this despite the fact that Lothar Matthäus normally only dresses up as a cowboy.

8. Jürgen Klopp

Klopp, the jokester. Klopp, the cheerful explainer. Klopp, the high-energy coach. We all know him. But Klopp, the grouch? In 2007, the tabloid newspaper "Bild" ripped the mask off the "Mainz cult coach." Question: "Is the coach of a carnival club actually a carnival enthusiast himself?" Shocking answer: "No. I don't like carnival. Besides, we don't have time to celebrate carnival." That clears that up.

9. Ailton

Is Ailton perhaps the most underrated comedian in German football? Why? Because: "Carnival is different in Germany. Here everyone dresses up strangely – in Brazil everyone always takes them off!"

10. Miso Brecko

And last but not least: former Cologne defender Miso Brecko, the king of the colorful carnival scene. We quote from the Bild newspaper of February 16, 2012: "After the club's carnival celebration, Brecko, with a blood alcohol level of 1.6 per mille, followed the tram at 2:15 a.m. The tram driver alerted the police: 'I'm being followed by a car!' By the time the officers arrived, the Slovenian had already involuntarily parked his BMW X5 on the tracks. All the tires were flat..."