Quotes About Football

I closely follow football (and basketball and baseball) for the right reasons, not the alarmingly irrelevant ones.

Dad was a manager at Newport, over on the Isle of Wight. I remember going from Portsmouth on the hovercraft to the Isle of Wight for games with my mum.

I think I'm connected to this issue in some capacity, football and brain damage. So carving out a way to address it tactfully is important to me no matter what I go on to do.

At the time when I started, coming out of football, I always used a forearm or an elbow. When it became Bionic is when I said it was Bionic. I went to some secret doctor in Istanbul who put some Bionic stuff in there.

Balotelli is an asset for Italian football.

I'm very grateful to Italian football for the opportunity it has given me.

I don't like the Italian approach. I don't want to be involved in that kind of football.

English football is different: always on the attack. Although one thing is clear. The best football is the Italian.

English football is very different from Italian; it's more physical, and matches are always very open.

I enjoy the honesty of English football, because nobody gives up, and almost all the best players are here. Italian football is at the bottom because of all those scandals. Their league is not very interesting.

If Rooney had been Italian, he would have been loved like Francesco Totti was at Roma.

Every Italian wants to play in Serie A.

The Italians are very strong defensively. They showed in Euro 2000 how good defensively they are.

A compact defense has always been the basis of Italy's team.

Juventus have always had exceptional players. I've played against them and against Italy many times. They're a tough team with great quality.

I love Italy. This is the country that made me famous, and I would love to stay in Serie A.

I should never have left Italy and Juve.

It is very difficult to score goals in Italy.

My wife Yolanthe and I love Inter, the Italian fans, and Italy.

I like people like Robert De Niro and Anthony Hopkins. And Gianfranco Zola, who played for Chelsea and Italy. He's an artist with his feet.

Maybe one day I will work in Italy. If they want me.

The defenders in Italy are stronger, and that makes me better. Serie A is played in a different way to other leagues.

With what I have learned in Italy, if I have the chance to learn something more in England I think it would make me a more complete, better player.

It's hard to imagine going back to Italy, despite my experience in Serie A being extraordinary.