Quotes About Football

He cleansed the dressing room of players who were uncommitted and oblivious of the club's core values: prioritising good football and hard work ahead of individual talent. Before they met for pre-season, Pep received messages from key players in the squad backing his bravery; the squad's leaders were effectively opening the door to the dressing room for him.

Ronaldo also dropped deep to receive the ball, turn round and run towards goal – and he always found space as the centre backs didn't follow him closely.

Ingla and Txiki set out a plan for the rest of the season which saw them working and consulting simultaneously with both Rijkaard and Pep, talking about players, injuries and recoveries and principally how to shake up the working model of the club. The primary goal was to professionalise the first team.

he explained that elements of his behaviour in front of the media were a necessary evil: a vital cog in the psychological machinery that he used to win football matches.

During this period, Pep perfected other weapons that were going to be used during the rest of the season – and from then on. A high defensive line, quick pressure after losing possession and allocation of space for each player was the order of the day.

wanted the fans to see that the team was going to work hard, run, play good football, and take pride in their work on the pitch.

Believe, believe with all of your hearts that we can score, because then we will definitely score.' There was also the tactical instruction: they should play fast balls down the wings, because Chelsea allowed them to start moves from the back and neither Anelka nor Malouda closed down that area particularly well.

within that meticulous preparation there co-existed a high degree of expression, always bearing in mind that this is football, that players must think in tenths of a second and that there should be some freedom to show on the pitch, to do things that weren't planned off it.

Abidal explains that before he arrived at Barcelona, every time he was called into action on the pitch, as a defender he'd been taught to focus on winning the ball. As soon as he arrived at Barcelona, he was taught to think one step ahead about what he could do with it once he'd got hold of it.

In future they must place themselves more cleverly to receive the pass, and to start pressuring their opponents more quickly.

It is important in football, as in any walk of life, to appear calm in times of crisis. To hide weaknesses. Pep told them with conviction that they were on the right path.

There are the medical dangers of football in general caused by head trauma over repetitive hits.

In more than 20 years I've spent studying the issue, I have yet to hear a convincing argument that college football has anything do with what is presumably the primary purpose of higher education: academics.

The high hopes of the 1960s were over. Old taboos had been broken down but no new codes of conduct were ready to replace them. Football terraces became battle-zones. Alcohol and drug consumption rose dramatically. Graphic violence – almost always WW2-themed – and soft porn went mainstream. Men like Jimmy Saville and Gary Glitter discovered that if they just got on the telly, they could do whatever they liked.

There is a subculture in this country that seems to have no antecedent—a conflation of reality television, National Enquirer journalism, fundamentalist religion, militarism, and professional football. At the center is an adoration of celebrity, no matter how it is acquired or in what form it comes. Women

What we do know is that Aaron Hernandez was an escape artist. On the football field, no one could catch him. In Florida, he was a few steps removed from a terrible shooting that no one had answered for. In Boston, he almost certainly committed a double murder that he got away with. And when Aaron was caught, and convicted, for Odin Lloyd's murder, he continued to find new ways to escape. By killing himself, he escaped a long life behind bars.

Kid, it's just football," Coach Shumsky said. "This is your chance to go have some fun." "Um… okay—" "I'm kidding," Coach said. "Get in there. Go get 'em. You know the drill. Sic 'em!" Ha

Unfortunately, there are no mulligans when it comes to pro football contracts.

I think there's a lot of things that need fixing at Manchester United apart from David Moyes, but in this business, you also realize the head coach is always going to be the first to go, unfortunately.

Unfortunately, my football career wasn't very long. The reason I finished playing was because I fractured both ankles in a matter of months.

There is too much unhappiness in football, no?

I am always honest, and I am not the sort of player to say, 'Oh, I love Arsenal' and then sign for someone else. I think if I was unhappy, I would say that, but I'm not. I do love Arsenal.

Every player wants to play. That's pretty normal. Every player is unhappy when he's on the bench. That's pretty normal, too. But it's football: only 11 players can start, and the coach has his game plan for each game.

I know that a lot of German clubs are unhappy with the Premier League clubs' spending, but I think it is something good for all clubs in the end.