The Bundesliga's best quotes of 2017

'Tis the season to be jolly, but when isn't? 2017 has provided plenty of drama and excitement on the pitch, but when that ball stops rolling, the fun does not end there.

What the stars of the Bundesliga have to say off the field can be just as entertaining as what they deliver on the field, as the following selection of quotes, courtesy of Kicker magazine, confirm.

So brighten up your winter break with some memorable remarks from 2017…

Hoffenheim coach Julian Nagelsmann was confronted with plenty of comparisons with Carlo Ancelotti, Bayern Munich's coach for the first few months of the season. However, he did not feel he measured up in any way…

Tom Starke was brought back from retirement (something of a trend going on there at Bayern…), but Javi Martinez was not concerned about his ability in keeping the goal behind him clean, despite the aesthetics...

With Manuel Neuer injured, Thomas Müller was the man wearing the captain's armband for Bayern – or should we say trying to wear? The Raumdeuter spent much of his time trying to prevent the armband from slipping off…

One of the ugliest moments of the season saw Stuttgart captain Christian Gentner involved in a close encounter with Koen Casteels' knee. He suffered multiple face fractures, but was still able to look on the funny side – even if laughing hurt like hell…

Rune Jarstein was in the wars for his country, conceding six goals in a World Cup qualifier against Germany. His coach at Hertha Berlin, Pal Dardai, tried to put into words how that must have felt…

Werder Bremen's Chinese summer signing Yuning Zhang tried to use his diplomacy skills when asked about his first impressions of German cuisine. He is a self-declared fan of rice pudding, after all…

Nagelsmann's proven his coaching acumen and, to appear with another entry in our list, it appears he talks the talk as well as he walks the walk. He's quite a fan of philosophy too, it seems…

Maximilian Arnold will not forget his free-kick goal against Bayern Munich. There was a lot of skill involved in the perfect execution. Oh, and Arnold said there was a bit of luck involved too…

Not one to mince his words, Freiburg's charismatic coach Christian Streich explained why Nils Petersen, who is the Bundesliga's most prolific super-sub of all time, has not been delivering as many goals from the bench this term...