“I want to be a top-flight football player, so I lead the life that enables me to be that type of player. I prefer to be seen in a decent light rather than an indecent one.” WantLightPlayerFootballTypeFlightDecentFootball Player Author:Michael Owen
“I play football, and most football players are camera shy. We just want to be left alone; we just want to stick to what we do.” WantPlayLeftPlayerFootballCamerasSticksShyLeft AloneFootball Player Author:Reggie Bush
“I am more worried about being a good person than being the best football player in the world” WorldPersonsPlayerFootballWorriedDecentBeing The BestGood PersonBest FootballFootball PlayerBeing A Good PersonInspirational FootballScoring Goals Author:Lionel Messi
“When I was in Dutch and Italian football, a lot of people looked at Manchester United, and when they were asked who was the best player, a lot of them said Paul Scholes. Much of what he did looked simple, but actually it was quite hard. Invariably he controlled the ball instantly and passed it straight on, keeping the game moving. He made inch-perfect passes across the pitch; he saw the gaps and could play the ball through them. So it didn't surprise me that so many top-class international footballers recognized his quality.” PeopleMadeSaidHardPlayMovingGamesSimplePerfectUnitedQualityClassSawsPlayerFootballBallsSurpriseInternationalGapsControlledItalianInchesFootballerManchesterDutchBest PlayersSurprise MeManchester UnitedScholesPaul Scholes Author:Edwin van der Sar
“Funnily enough we have never had one enquiry for Paul Scholes. You know why? Because they all know he will never leave. in my time he would be in the top six or seven (best United players ever) without a doubt. His contribution and quality have been great, even without the fantastic goals he has scored. [ . . . ] He has that wonderful velvet touch on the ball. When he gets it, it goes stone dead. It is wonderful to see that amidst all the mayhem that can happen in a football match.” KnowsHas BeensEnoughHappensWould BeGoalUnitedQualityDoubtPlayerWonderfulFootballSixStonesBallsSevenFantasticMy TimeContributionVelvetMayhemScholesEnquiryPaul ScholesFootball Match Author:Alex Ferguson
“Scholes was England's best football player. It was impossible to take the ball from him, and he never mishit a pass.” PlayerImpossibleFootballBallsEnglandBest FootballFootball PlayerScholes Author:Sven-Goran Eriksson
“Paul Scholes is my favourite player. He epitomises the spirit of Manchester United and everything that is good about football.” SpiritUnitedPlayerFootballFavouriteManchesterManchester UnitedScholesPaul Scholes Author:Bobby Charlton
“I've still got Paul Scholes' shirt at home which I swapped with him once. When I was at Liverpool he was one of the players I liked most. Maybe he's not valued as much as he should be in England because of the style of football there and because he keeps a low profile. Perhaps he would have been more valued in Spain, where midfielders like him form part of the 'ideal.' Fans in Spain rate him very highly and I admire him a huge amount.” ShouldHas BeensStillsHomeFormPlayerFansStyleFootballHugeAmountLowsIdealsEnglandRateAdmireShirtsSpainProfileLiverpoolScholesPaul ScholesMidfielders Author:Xabi Alonso
“People love a player with ideas, because at the end of the day, the crowd want to be entertained. And with football being only a game, it has to be enjoyable too.” PeopleWantIdeasEndsGamesPlayerFootballCrowdsThe End Of The DayEnjoyable Author:Ernst Happel
“I come from a generation where I couldn't even contemplate such a thing. I find it amazing... You can become a multi-millionaire as a club player without playing international football. But international football is about individual pride and wanting to perform at the highest level. If I got picked at 41, I would have played, even if I thought I would make a fool of myself. I just wanted to play for my country.” IfsCountryPlayWantedIndividualLevelsPlayerGenerationsFootballPrideFoolHighestInternationalClubsContemplatingMillionaire Author:Trevor Brooking
“Making the effort to improve as a human being is what Coach Lombardi was all about. He was able to see the gap between where we were and what we could become-both as football players and as people. And he felt it was his God-given responsibility to close that gap.” PeopleHumansAbleGivenFeltHuman BeingsEffortResponsibilityPlayerFootballCoachesGapsFootball PlayerLombardi Author:Jerry Kramer
“Best football player I played against? I think Messi. He killed us.” ThinkingPlayerFootballBest FootballFootball PlayerMessi Author:Rafael van der Vaart
“I think now Messi is probably done more than most players. But he is in the same class as Alfredo de Stefano, Johan Cruyff, Pelé. When he finishes and he retires, he will automatically become one of them. A player that people will talk about forever, while the game of football is as good and as popular as it is. He is a sensational player.” PeopleThinkingDoneGamesClassForeverPlayerFootballRetiringMessiSensationalCruyff Author:Bobby Charlton
“Much of modern liberalism consists of people trying to get revenge on the football players they felt inferior to in school.” PeopleTryingSchoolFeltPlayerModernFootballRevengeLiberalismInferiorsFootball PlayerModern Liberalism Author:Steve Sailer
“As a professional, as a person, and as a player, I think he's fantastic. It's like he's dancing the tango. I just love how he plays football so elegantly. To me, Andres is Don Andres.” ThinkingPersonsPlayPlayerFootballDancingFantasticTango Author:Dani Alves
“We don't want our players to be monks. We want them to be better football players because a monk doesn't play football at this level.” WantPlayLevelsPlayerFootballMonkFootball Player Author:Bobby Robson
“Ronaldinho is better than Cristiano Ronaldo, but neither are as good as Leo Messi. He holds numerous records, such as the most goals scored in a single La Liga season and the most goals scored in a calendar year. I'm more worried about being a good person than being the best football player in the world. He has everything. We must protect him.” WorldYearsPersonsGoalRecordsPlayerFootballProtectSeasonsWorriedBeing The BestGood PersonCalendarsBest FootballFootball PlayerMessiBeing A Good PersonCristiano RonaldoLeo Messi Author:Jose Mourinho
“They call it football, but the object of the game is to bash the other guy so hard that he's eventually carried off the field on a stretcher. I can't watch football anymore. My psychiatrist said it's better that way. I used to watch a game, see the players in a huddle - and think they were talking about me.” ThinkingWaySaidI CanHardUsedGuyGamesTalkingWatchesPlayerFieldsObjectsFootballPsychiatristOther GuysBashTalking About Me Author:Jackie Mason
“If he isn't named footballer of the year, football should be stopped and the men who picked any other player should be sent to Kremlin. (on Tommy Smith)” IfsMenShouldYearsPlayerFootballHe ManEnglandFootballerLiverpool FcKremlin Author:Bill Shankly
“There's so many kids out there and it's such a cut-throat world. I've seen a lot of my mates, you know, who are better players than me at a certain age, and they're not in football now.” KnowsWorldKidsAgeCertainCuttingPlayerFootballEnglandThroatMates Author:Frank Lampard
“Every girl who has dated a football player ... They all have sex the same way.” WayGirlSexPlayerFootballFootball PlayerEvery Girl Author:Kim Kardashian
“A football match should be decided by an action of play. Not some contrived process whose end result is to mark a fine player such as Bossis, Baresi or Baggio for the rest of his career.” ShouldEndsPlayActionProcessResultsCareersPlayerFootballFineDecidedMarkEnd ResultsFootball Match Author:Michel Patini
“Doping in English football is restricted to lager and baked beans with sausages. After which the players take to the field, belching and farting. English football culture is one of pure, intense competition, and that's why I have always preferred it to Italy.” CulturePlayerFieldsFootballPureCompetitionIntenseBeansSausageDopingEnglish FootballLagerBelchingBaked Beans Author:Paolo Di Canio
“The caliber of play in professional football compared to college is better and everybody knows it. They don't realize how much better. What a giant leap forward in the ability of talent level, the speed, and even the grasp of what you are trying to do. There is no other distractions before the players.” KnowsTryingPlayRealizingAbilityLevelsPlayerTalentFootballCollegeSpeedGiantsLeapDistractionCaliber Author:Marv Levy
“Every profession has changed. Journalism has changed. Medicine has changed. Technology has changed and it evolves. The same is true of football. Free agency has now allowed teams to be a dynasty as they have been before. It is not a great thing for the fans, but it is a good thing for the players.” Has BeensTechnologyPlayerTeamFansChangedFootballMedicineGood ThingsProfessionGreat ThingsJournalismEvolveAgencyDynastyFree Agency Author:Marv Levy
“I was a football player. I liked it a lot...unfortunately that's where I first wrecked my knees. Playing high school football, getting cut across the knees. They haven't healed since. Back then they didn't have the surgery techniques that they have now.” FirstsSchoolCuttingPlayerHavensFootballHigh SchoolTechniqueKneesSurgeryHealedFootball PlayerHigh School Football Author:Mark Mendoza
“When I was younger, I had some close friends who always loved European football, and Real Madrid at that time were the dominant force. I remember family holidays when we used to go to Spain, and we'd bring back replica shirts of Real Madrid and pretend to be the players when we played in the park.” RealRememberUsedForcePlayerFootballShirtsParksHolidayDominantSpainClose FriendsMadridReplicaReal MadridFamily Holiday Author:Gareth Bale
“The Premier League is very difficult football and very different to when you play in Europe, but the player has to have experience to adapt, and this is the key point.” DifferentPlayDifficultPlayerFootballKeysEuropeLeaguePremier League Author:Fernando Torres
“I find it embarrassing when people compare me to Maradona. How can they? There is only one Maradona. People who say this just have no idea, they don't know what they are talking about. Diego was a complete one-off who will never have an equal on the football pitch. No-one, I repeat no-one, could have transformed teams like he did. Maradona was the world's greatest-ever player while I'm just an apprentice.” PeopleKnowsWorldIdeasTalkingPlayerTeamFootballEqualNo IdeaCompareRepeatsTransformedEmbarrassingApprenticeMaradona Author:Sergio Aguero
“I went to a school in Miami that seemed like a private country club. The whole cheerleader, football player, clique-y thing there was terrifying. Those people were so scary. They're the scariest kinds of people because they are idolized by their peers. They have everything, they have money, and they're just mean-spirited. It's crazy.” PeopleKindMeanCountryWholeSchoolPlayerCrazyFootballClubsScaryPeersMiamiFootball PlayerSpiritedCheerleaderCliqueMean SpiritedCountry ClubsIdolized Author:Zoe Kravitz
“The NFL has done a great job in giving players information on how to go to a second career after football and how to invest their money while they're playing to ensure when their career is over, that they have something else in place to fall back on. One of the big things the NFL does is promote education in different fields.” GivingDoeDifferentDoneBigsJobsFallCareersPlayerInformationFieldsFootballNflBig ThingsFall BackGreat Job Author:Kamerion Wimbley
“People who are following their dreams inspire me. I train at this relatively new gym in West Hollywood called Training Mate. It's owned by a former Australian football player named Luke Milton. The classes are mostly taught by other Australians that are just like Luke: fit, funny, cute, and approachable. Now they're talking about opening another location. He will open another location and be successful because he's following his dream. People like him inspire me because they make me think I can do it too.” PeopleThinkingI CanDreamCan DoTalkingClassSuccessfulPlayerFootballInspireTaughtFitTrainingHollywoodTrainWestFollowingOpeningFormerCuteBeing SuccessfulGymMatesLocationAustralianLukeI Can Do ItFootball PlayerMiltonWest Hollywood Author:Dayna Devon
“My favorite sports novel is End Zone by Delillo. It's such a great looking book too, the black cover with the football player on it. It's just a fantastic little book.” LittlesBookEndsSportsBlackNovelPlayerFootballMy FavoriteFantasticZoneFootball PlayerFavorite Sports Author:Chad Harbach
“You just can't believe how quickly things happen in football and the way life turns. I went from being the bad guy, the worst player who gets all the criticism, to being the player who makes the difference and scores the important goals.” WayBelieveImportantHappensGuyTurnsGoalDifferencesPlayerWorstFootballCriticismThings HappenScoreBad Guys Author:Luis Suarez
“This may sound arrogant, but I believe that if we'd done teamship better, we'd still be there. Where we fell down was the inability to hold together. We should have learnt from the great football teams. The players may not like each other. They have egos, they have their own ambitions, they have different personalities, but they are still bloody good teams.” IfsShouldBelieveMayStillsDifferentDoneTogetherI BelieveSoundPlayerTeamFootballPersonalityEgoAmbitionShould HaveArrogantBloodyInabilityFootball TeamGood TeamGreat Football Author:Alastair Campbell
“I remember talking to Alex Ferguson about Tony [Blair] and Gordon [Brown], and he said: "Why doesn't Tony just get rid of him?" But if you sack someone in football, they can't turn up to training the next day. In politics they're still on the pitch. Gordon would still have been a big player.” IfsHas BeensSaidStillsBigsRememberTurnsNextTalkingPlayerFootballTrainingBrownNext DayAlexBlairFerguson Author:Alastair Campbell
“I had lots of posters on my bedroom wall of players like Zico, many Brazilian and Italian players, not many players in particular but I loved football so much and I especially loved skilful players.” PlayerFootballParticularWallItalianBedroomPostersBedroom Wall Author:Emmanuel Petit
“This kind of directing, I think, is very similar to being a football coach. You prepare your players and place them in the right places, but once the game is on, there's nothing much you can do - you can smoke a cigarette or get nervous, but you can't do much.” ThinkingKindGamesCan DoPlayerFootballCoachesNervousSmokeCigaretteRight PlaceFootball Coach Author:Abbas Kiarostami
“In short, we accumulate all the information that we can accumulate, wherever that information comes from, and try to analyze it and make the best decision we can make for our football team on a case-by-case basis. It's the same for every single player; the process is the same.” TryingProcessDecisionCasesPlayerTeamInformationFootballBasesFootball Team Author:Bill Belichick
“Some guys, football comes really easy to them; they can see what all 22 players are doing, can see what all 11 guys are doing on their side of the ball, how it all fits together. It's easy for them.” TogetherGuyEasySidesPlayerFootballFitBalls Author:Bill Belichick
“I'm sure that any current or past player of mine would tell you that the balls we practice with are as bad as they can be: wet, sticky, cold, slippery. However bad we can make them, I make them. Any time that players complain about the quality of the footballs, I make them worse and that stops the complaining.” PastQualityPracticePlayerFootballMinesColdBallsCurrentsComplainingWetSlipperySticky Author:Bill Belichick
“I could tell you that in my entire coaching career I have never talked to any player, staff member about football air pressure. That is not a subject that I have ever brought up.” CareersPlayerAirSubjectsFootballMembersPressureCoachingStaffStaff MembersAir Pressure Author:Bill Belichick
“Someone on Twitter sent me a page from a textbook. It had a picture of a football player next to a picture of me. The juxtaposition was meant to illustrate two meanings of "offensive." Seriously. It broke my heart. It's that accepted what I do is offensive?” HeartTwoNextPlayerFootballMy HeartPagesAcceptedBrokeOffensiveTextbooksFootball PlayerJuxtapositionBroke My HeartTwo Meaning Author:Sarah Silverman
“The one thing I learned early on as a football player is people have their opinions, and I can't change them. But I can show them what they're missing.” PeopleI CanShowsOpinionPlayerOne ThingMissingFootballCan't ChangeFootball Player Author:Deshaun Watson
“A lot of things create a distraction, and when you're on a quest as a football team you want to limit distractions. I'm very much on board with that because I am a football player, and things can be distracting. We have 53 people that we have to make sure aren't distracted, because we only have 16 turns to do it, so every one matters so much.” PeopleWantMatterTurnsPlayerTeamFootballLimitsBoardsDistractionQuestsDistractedFootball PlayerFootball Team Author:Andrew Hawkins
“Polls are now even more meaningless than ever... there was the case of Ronnie O'Brien, the young footballer who incredibly found himself at Juventus, and even more incredibly found himself in the running to win an internet poll of the great club's greatest ever player. The curse ironically struck O'Brien a second time when he was at one point leading Time magazine's list of the Greatest People Of The 20th Century. The error in the polling was soon rectified and O'Brien, happily, is leading a highly successful career playing pro-football with FC Dallas in the American soccer league.” PeopleRunningYoungFoundWinningCareersCasesSuccessfulPlayerFansCenturyMediaFootballInternetErrorsClubsListsMagazinesSoccerLeagueCurseMeaningless20th CenturyPollsFootballerDallasPro FootballPollingSuccessful CareerTime MagazineJuventus Author:Ian O'Doherty
“According to the nanny who sold her story, Victoria used to scream at her husband: I gave up my music for you. So, the next time you feel like slagging off David Beckham, just take a moment to ponder on how much we all owe the man.” MenFeelsMomentsStoriesUsedNextPlayerFootballHe ManHusbandSoccerScreamNext TimeGave UpPonderingVictoriaNanniesBeckham Author:Ian O'Doherty
“When I look back on when I grew up, not even football players lifted weights. That was back 50 years ago.” YearsLooksPlayerFootballGrewGrew UpYears AgoWeightFootball Player Author:Jack Nicklaus
“I was a football player and competitor in life.” PlayerFootballCompetitorsFootball Player Author:Bill Goldberg
“I think that the Brazilian football is one of the best in the world. It still is and still struggles for this. We have talented players that can take Brazil to the top.” ThinkingWorldStillsStrugglePlayerFootballBrazil Author:Neymar