Quotes About Football

I played rugby league, I probably played for about 10 years I think, and I wrestled before then. I did about a year of wrestling, and I think I got a bit tired of the tights, so I started to play football with the mates. I used to be a front rower, the big guys up front. I used to be 97 kilograms, which is like 210 pounds, or something like that.

By high school, I was already tall - 5-foot-8 - and one day I made the mistake of wearing green tights. The football players all started calling me the Jolly Green Giant.

Every day, I was on the street dribbling, doing skills. I wasn't in an academy till I was 19.

At first, I didn't know what to expect but I do say that I love our defensive coordinator, Tim Lewis.

That's Manchester United for you, a never-say-die attitude as you see time and time again.

Well, I've learned a lot from Bill Belichick. I've said time and time again, before I got to New England, I thought I knew a lot about football. But I think he taught me a lot from A to Z. I still carry it to this day.

When I was 10 years old, my teacher got us to imagine our future. I drew a timeline of the rest of my life. I had just started playing football, so I drew pictures of me as a professional footballer.

That's my hunger. If I start to relax, and I lose that, then I had better stop my football. I need that hunger. I still feel I need to do things 10 times better than other players. Just to be accepted and to improve myself.

I've got my bell rung, and when I first came in the league, the term wasn't 'concussion,' it was 'getting dinged' or 'had your bell rung.' So I had my bell rung a few times.

Over a 10-season stretch from 1967 to 1976, eight Super Bowl champions either were the Raiders or had to beat the Raiders in the playoffs. The Jets, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Baltimore Colts, Miami, the Steelers each of the first two times... we all had to deal with the Raiders.

Writing a song is like playing a series of downs in football: Lots of rules, timing is crucial, lots of boundaries, lots of protective gear, lots of stopping and starting.

It is up to me to adapt and to continue to surprise with my positioning, the timing of my runs, the trajectories, when I call for the ball.

Even as a coach, sometimes you forget the little intricacies of the offense, the details of the routes, the timing of the footwork, and the timing of the offensive tackles with the different sets that they have.

What I do have is an appreciation for the fact that I've been very blessed and fortunate with timing, in getting opportunities that I wouldn't have otherwise gotten, if I weren't from a football family where my grandfather had so much success. I'm not naive enough to think otherwise.

A lot has evolved and changed in women's sport in the last 10 years - particularly football and cricket. So, I think my timing, in terms of being able to play both for a while, was fortunate.

I've been blessed with the athleticism that I've got. I've worked a little bit to try and fine-tune certain aspects - my pace, leap, timing - to make it work on the football pitch, but I always had it in my armoury being able to jump high. I was always good at long jump back in the day at school - nobody could ever beat me.

Once I understand the playbook and understand what I'm looking at, it'll be easy as far as the timing and where the ball needs to go.

The margin for error in the Champions League is tiny.

I grew up in a tiny town in Texas, so I understood the world of high school football.

For me, Barca was where I grew up since I was tiny, from eight years old.

My biggest hero was Roman Gabriel, who was the QB of the Rams, and Roger Staubach. Those were the two guys I tired to emulate when I was little.

If the Cowboys and Titans ain't playing, I'm not interested.

For me, Arsenal is a football training centre. You watch the match, you enjoy it, but are you going to win a title afterwards? That's what people remember.

The goalkeeper is very, very important, as much as a striker. Anyone who wants to win a title has to have a goalkeeper.