Quotes from Landon Donovan

I know conventional wisdom has always been to go to Europe, and I did that early on, and I tried it, but I realised pretty quickly if I wasn't playing, nothing else mattered - I wasn't going to be happy.

I talk periodically with the producers at EA and I try to be as honest as possible because as great as EA does, you just don't want to hear good things. These people are really passionate about making games and making them as realistic as possible.

Men are sort of doofuses about sunscreen, and for the most part, women are more inclined to take better care of themselves, but a reminder is always good for everyone.

You got me: I do Pilates. I love Pilates because we do very specific training in soccer for the same six or seven muscles, but we neglect so many other muscles. So when I do Pilates, it helps get all the rest of the muscles in shape and gets them working together.

It's got to be harder in real life to win a World Cup. But depending on if you play World Class level on FIFA, it's going to be difficult to win in the video game, too.

I've never met anybody who says they don't like the World Cup. If you're a soccer fan or not, everybody loves watching it, and I think it could be the same for other sports.

I have to be able to be honest and be credible, and I think I can say, 'This guy did not have his best game today' rather than, 'He is awful and I cannot believe he did that.'

I want to be a positive influence. I want to be someone who they want to call in and want here consistently, regardless of my role.

I think all players reach a point in their career where it's natural to lose some of that hunger, that desire, to sort of break out or be a star.

The advantage doesn't come because you can run more than someone over 90 minutes. The advantage comes when, in the tenth minute, I'm sprinting back and making another guy chase me. By the end of the game, that guy's worn down, but I can still keep going at the same pace.

Fortunately, I don't spend too much time reading or worrying about what people have to say, but the goal for me throughout this whole process - throughout my whole life - is to try to be happy.

I love winning and any team I'm on, I expect to win.

Americans love winners, so if we win we know we'll get a lot of support.

I've always been active - outdoors, on the beach, playing - and so to go home and have to sit on my couch and relax... it's frustrating. Sometimes, you just have to really shut yourself down.

I've never asked a player if they would sign my shoe.

My guess is that if David Beckham wants Ronaldo's jersey, he's going to get it.

Fortunately for me, it's my most favorite drill, and that is finishing. However, from a young age, soccer players in this country are not taught how to properly finish, and I think you see that through the professional ranks, that we don't have that killer instinct of the forwards from other countries.

Relaxing, going on vacation, sleeping, having fun when I want, golfing when I want, do whatever I want - I am going to enjoy it.

I'm a little skeptical of foreign coaches in our league and in U.S. Soccer just because of how different our league is and our players are than other players around the world.

There was this old soccer game called 'Goal' for the old Nintendo, and ever since then, I've played everything from the old school games to the 360.

I've always thought it would be interesting to give insight on soccer because I have a lot of experience in my career.

When people say 'American soccer,' they think of the U.S. national team. But American soccer also includes Major League Soccer, and until we have a league that produces players at the rate other leagues around the world do, I don't believe we'll ever get to where we want to be.

That's a part that's always a challenge for athletes: trying to keep the passion alive while knowing it's still your job. There's no question that at some point, probably sooner rather than later, I'll be pretty burned out. And when that time comes, then I'll take a step back and take a look at it and see if I want to keep going.

The biggest thing for me with charity is awareness. Obviously as an athlete, I have an opportunity to make people more aware. The average person doesn't have that opportunity, so the best way is to spare some money, clothing, food - something. Most of us have a little excess of something that we can give.