I've always thought having a kid that played soccer would be the worst punishment. After watching 3 min of water polo I stand corrected.
I asked the players: 'Do you want to enjoy the game? Or do you want to enjoy after the game?' The players told me they wanted to enjoy after the game so I said: 'OK, then we will enjoy after the game'.
A great pianist doesn't run around the piano or do push ups with his fingers. To be great, he plays the piano. . . . being a footballer is not about running, push-ups or physical work generally. The best way to be a great footballer is to play.
If you like your soccer cerebral, and the triumph ultimately to be wrung out of staying power, Milan was the place to be. If you love the uncertainty of teams that cannot defend yet have the courage to attack, attack, attack, then Seville was heaven. . . The common denominator between the victories of Arsenal and Fenerbache? The strength of mind, the courage to dare in another team's domain, the inner belief that is as much a part of sporting success as the skill a fellow may be born with.
If you're in the penalty area and don't know what to do with the ball, put it in the net and we'll discuss the options later.
Every kid around the world who plays soccer wants to be Pele. I have a great responsibility to show them not just how to be like a soccer player, but how to be like a man.
Don't send me flowers when I'm dead. If you like me, send them while I'm alive.
A penalty is a cowardly way to score.
I play for the intense challenges that the game on the highest levels present. The whole team enjoys playng exciting soccer for the fans and my part in that makes me feel good about myself. The whole concept of teamwork is what keeps us all going. It's my role to create scoring chances, and to come through for my teammates is extremely satisfying.
It wasn't a monkey on my back, it was Planet of the Apes.
I played soccer because my friends did. Besides we got sodas afterwards.
Music was important. Football was the easy part.
I am the same person as always and I have the good fortune to play in a great team. It was an historic year for Barca and for me but it's thanks to the work of everyone.
When you are 4-0 up you should never lose 7-1.
Tattoos don't impress me. For me it's just another awkward part of fame. It's extraordinary - tattoos in basketball and soccer, it's quite extraordinary.
Being an England supporter is like being the over-optimistic parents of the fat kid on sports day.
The roots of our Soccer Tribe lie deep in our primeval past.
I've gone from being a brilliant captain of a TV soccer team to an average rugby player on a real team. I've gotten so used to ruling the roost and just saying whatever the hell I wanted, and I had to get back to reality.
If I'm watching my son play soccer, that's what I'm doing. If I'm going to a school concert, that's what I'm doing. I turn the phone off. I actively tune into whatever I'm doing. I walk every evening with one of my sons and for that half an hour, 45 minutes, that's what I'm doing.
I don't know if we are the best team in the world. I am lucky to be playing alongside some of the best players around. It's a dream.
