Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I do my research the same as everyone else - I watch games relentlessly and try to be the best that I can be. It should be irrelevant whether I'm male or female, so as long as I work hard and try my best at it, then more we keep speaking about it, then we can eradicate it from the game.
I think in terms of best players, I would have to say Ronaldo, the real Ronaldo, the Brazilian one. I was fortunate enough to have a year with him at Real Madrid. He was at the end of his career and was probably half the player he was. But, in his prime, he was quite simply astonishing.
I thought I would be at United for a couple of years, maybe three or four, and then go abroad somewhere. But I just fell in love with Manchester United. I fell in love with winning, fell in love with the history of the club and being part of it was something I could never have imagined.
Remember that before joining Arsenal, I was at Marseille where it was easy for me because I was with my family; I was born there and had played for them since I was nine. I came here on my own, and you grow up more quickly that way. It made a difference, because now I have become a man.
In football in this country, we want to be able to check off every box of a soccer player. You have to be good at this and this and this. Because of our society, and the way that I grew up in soccer, I had to become well-rounded-but I also cherished the parts of me that made me special.
The certainty that our football, the football of Spain, is recognised, that's very important to us - perhaps more important than the successes and the joy that you can create. Football hasn't always been appreciated, and luckily our football is appreciated now, at all levels of society.
I certainly don't feel like I have the perfect body type... It's through your own eyes. And for every female, you're going to see flaws in that; you're going to see flaws regardless. So for me, it's just important to have that confidence and self-esteem no matter what body type you have.
I gave my players a version of the same message at ten-to-three every Saturday: 'I would shoot my granny right now for three points this afternoon.' They knew how important it was to give everything in the cause of victory. Every time. That's why my granny enjoyed more lives than my cat.
I think - you know, I want to intimidate people when I'm on the field. I want people to be scared of me. That's just kind of the nature of who I am as a person and player. But I also know that you have to be emotional. You have to be in touch with your feelings. I think that's important.
Ooh, it's too embarrassing to share my innermost romantic secrets - although I have written Danielle the odd poem. If anything they are more comedic than romantic. They used to be well received but that was before she started studying Shakespeare at drama college. Now I feel so inept.
I actually don't wear any makeup when I'm on the field. I like looking nice, but my main concern is how I play - to me, if you look and feel good, then you play good. On the field, I only wear Coppertone Sport SPF 30. I like it because it feels like I'm putting on lotion rather than SPF.
For me, it's really important to take care of my skin. Especially because when I see someone, and they're just so fresh and beautiful, you always notice their skin first. So having a really good skin-care regimen is a must. I just wish I would have started taking care of my skin earlier!
It wasn't purely Alex Ferguson's experience that made him a good manager, because he did it when he was inexperienced. But if you've got the qualities needed, and then you add experience to it, someone who's been through it, well, that has to be advantageous. There's no doubt about that.
Basically my whole life revolves around soccer. I don't take many vacations. Everything just gets put on the back burner because of my training. I miss out on a lot of weddings and family functions. But at the end of the day, I'm sitting here as a world champion, and it feels pretty good.
I find it terrible when talents are rejected based on computer stats. Based on the criteria at Ajax now I would have been rejected. When I was 15, I couldn't kick a ball 15 meters with my left and maybe 20 with my right. My qualities technique and vision, are not detectable by a computer.
I have played for Real Madrid, which is such a big club and where the pressure is so huge because you have to go and, really, win absolutely every game. There is no game where people don't expect you to win. So, having played there for three years, pressure is nothing that would scare me.
Everyone makes mistakes, but when players or managers make mistakes, they are all accountable and have to take responsibility. When I talk about referees, you wonder, 'Can I say this?' You have to be careful - but they are the only group in the world of football who are treated like that.
Achieving Champions League football is the minimum requirement and always the most important thing for [Dortmund Borussia] club. Beyond that, we want to win a trophy. Maybe the German Cup, because we've reached the last three finals, but haven't won one, so that's a big motivation for us.
I used to hate Ian Rush when I was young, because I was a devout Evertonian in those days, and he seemed to score every time Liverpool played against us. It's strange to think he used to support Everton too when he was a kid. He was brilliant to me at Anfield always giving me good advice.
For me soccer provides so many emotions, a different feeling every day. I've had the good fortune to take part in major competitions like the Olympics, and winning the World Cup was also unforgettable. We lost in the Olympics and won in the World Cup, and I'll never forget either feeling.
Doubt is the disease of this inquisitive, restless age. It is the price we pay for our advanced intelligence and civilization-the him night of our resplendent day. But as the most beautiful light is born of darkness, so the faith that springs from conflict is often the strongest and best.
Pre-season isn't just about conditioning but also getting used to each other as a team and a group of men. You spend more time with these people than you do your own family. Pre-season is the time we get used to each other and work out how people work. It can be a lot of fun. Hard but fun.
You and I have been physically given two hands and two legs and half-decent brains. Some people have not been born like that for a reason. The karma is working from another lifetime. I have nothing to hide about that. It is not only people with disabilities. What you sow, you have to reap.
Of course I support England - and I follow Birmingham. I am an avid football fan, and obviously, I have a connection with Arsenal, so I like to watch them, too. I think anyone who is English follows the men's team and wants them to do well, and I'm an avid follower of any football, really.
I am very happy that I have great fans. What I can tell them is they must work on themselves; they should just have fun at what they do. I wish them well with everything, and if they really enjoy what they do, then I think they can go a long way. I will be rooting for them to achieve that.
I think England are probably not as streetwise as plenty of other teams. The other top teams know how to keep a victory or do certain things to hang on to leads or get back in games. They're a lot more streetwise than us. I think as a nation we are very honest, we try to win the right way.
I think any manager who tells you, 'I am very good at keeping my equilibrium. I'm always calm and reasoned, and results don't affect me particularly. I can take the good with the bad, and I can put the wins and the losses in perspective,' you will find a special person. I've never met one.
I am more than proud to be European. I love Europe, I love France, but I have an American mentality, and I don't know why. The way I see things, the way I talk, I'm the kind of person who, if I want to say something, I will say it - sometimes in Europe, it's not always what you need to do.
Every time I step onto the field, whether people like it or not, I'm not trying to play dirty - I'm just playing tough. And I'm trying to earn my spot on the team. I'm trying to earn a starting spot. I'm trying to become a complete midfielder who attacks, who defends. So that's the mindset.
Perspective taking is taking on the perspective of others. It's what we do anytime we buy a gift for someone else ("What would they like?"). So it means breaking the golden rule ("Treat others the way you want to be treated") and instead, acknowledges that others may not want what you want.
There are highly innovative companies in the U.S., Germany, and India. And there are many stories of companies that failed to innovate in all those countries. This is good news because it means, regardless of your cultural background or where your company is based, it can become innovative.
Not many know this, but in training sessions, I like to play in the center-back position sometimes. I think I'm good at that position, and my father used to be a central defender. Some people don't realize that if you play in that position, you can better understand how the defender thinks.
It wasn't an easy decision to leave out Bobo, because I could have done that with two or three from the back four. But there's a limit to the players you have and the changes you can make. The reality is we're not defending well enough. But we just have to plug on. There's no magic formula.
She [my mother] struggled, abusing alcohol for quite some time, and so we just kind of drifted apart. I went to college. But I dedicate the book to her because she is the true champion of the family. She kept our family together. She provided us with a roof over our head. She always worked.
Marlins Park is what I call my office in Miami, because I work for the Venezuelan Museum of Baseball and Hall of Fame. My job is to go to all the MLB stadiums and to talk to and collect articles from all the Venezuelan players in the big leagues and those Americans that played in Venezuela.
We love to make sure all the boxes are checked - that we aren't just prepared but over-prepared before we raise our hand. It's that discipline that I love most about women, but it's also what holds us women back the most because by the time we raise our hand, that opportunity is often gone.
I'm a pretty open book, so not being out publicly felt inauthentic. Hopefully we can get to a point where your personal life isn't anybody else's business, but until then, it's less about people having to know about your sexuality than standing up for what's right and fighting for equality.
If you want to keep up with the changes, then you have to watch as much football as you can. Live is the best way but also on television. All the best teams: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and now City. What are they doing? If possible, go and see them training. You can always learn.
I remember being in buses, hotel lobbies and bars leading up to the 1994 World Cup talking with guys about how great it would be to have a legitimate league of our own, so getting on the plane in Italy to return and be part of the first year of MLS was one of the proudest moments of my life.
Communication. It's important to be completely open and fearless when it comes to communication. Good, bad, happy, sad. Talk it out, hug, see a shrink, text each other, hurl marshmallows. Whatever it takes to ensure a deep understanding of each other's feelings. Cancer is not a solo mission.
When I was a child, the FA Cup was one of the crown jewels of the sporting year, along with the Grand National, Wimbledon and The Open. But with every announcement it seems to lose another piece of its identity. First it was sponsors added to the name, followed by the semi-finals at Wembley.
People think I've got a problem with the press. Actually I have no problem with the press, but just like in football there are a handful who cause problems because they're disrespectful, they're lazy, and above all - and this is what really gets to me - they haven't worked hard to get there.
If there's a national-team player, he has to do extra work. He has to do extra weeks, and he can't go on vacation even if he says: 'Well, but I'm supposed now to have six weeks off.' If he comes and says that, then I give him a hug and say: 'Have fun the six weeks, but don't come back here.'
There are two metaphors for Mario the person and not Mario the footballer. I think I am a man, but I don't believe I need to say it. But I could also be Peter Pan because I do things my own way and I am free. So, yes, maybe I should say that I am Peter Pan - although I am much more of a man.
After games, my wife gives me a lot of advice and criticism. Sometimes, I am upset. I say, 'Why do you advise me this?' But I like it, because to listen to a different point of view is always important. You can find a different position or point of view that can help you to be more creative.
Klopp would reproach me for not tracking back properly. I took things on board, and I listened to him. I worked hard in training; I stayed behind after training. That's what helped me to shine in the Bundesliga because I scored quite a lot of goals despite some difficult games in the league.
You can learn more from the lows than the highs. The highs are great but the lows make you really look at things in a different way and want to improve. Every player will have both in their careers and I have, but what you get is that experience which is so important to perform at your best.
It feels a little bit odd to me that you have some guys that have never lived in the United States that play for the United States because they were able to secure a passport. To me, that just feels like they weren't able to make it for their country and earn a living, so they're coming here.
Yes, I do like to be in control. I do like everything to be laid out, to know what I'm doing. I'm very impatient. I like things done yesterday, which is probably a fault of mine. I like things to be neat and tidy and organised. I say what I want and show what I want and I keep things private.
Ask questions then talk over answers, shout loudly you love everyone, try and hug people, confide in them that you are a sheep, offer them the last grass in your pockets. Then watch with a smile as they pretend you aren't there, and whisper you must be crazy, because you want to make friends.