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He scored the first goal of the European Championship and became a meme star thanks to a viral video. But Florian Wirtz has had enough of the potato hype.
Donaueschingen – Florian Wirtz had already won the favour of German fans as one of the most promising young footballers in Europe before EM in their own country. A video that made the rounds in May certainly contributed to this. In this video, Wirtz presented ten different potato preparations according to his personal taste.
His preference became a widespread meme. Wirtz was often confronted with the expression “Normal potatoes on the one”. During the European Championships, for example, there were banners with the Bayer Leverkusen star’s statement. The discounter Aldi also used the slogan for an advertising campaign. However, the hype surrounding the video is now annoying the 21-year-old.
Florian Wirtz: “I don’t find it entertaining”
Die Bild newspaper Wirtz quotes from Leverkusen’s training camp in Donaueschingen: “I don’t find it entertaining. To be honest, I’ve already spoken to a few people about it. Those who know me don’t understand why it went through the roof like that. I think people made fun of the way I said it.”
Florian Wirtz sparked a lot of memes with the ‘potato video’. © IMAGO/Laci Perenyi
Although Wirtz has retained his love of potatoes, the topic now annoys him. “I don’t regret it. But when I’m constantly asked about it from left and right, I just try to ignore it. It’s just reached a point where it’s no longer funny.”
Wirtz would probably prefer to be asked about scoring the first goal of the European Championship. He also saved Germany in the quarter-final against Spain and took them to extra time. The much sought-after young star has confirmed his status as DFB-hopeful and made the speculation about his future even more interesting. Wirtz stated that he was “not following a timetable”.
