Quotes About Sportsmanship

I don't like admitting, we were beaten by a great team, because we never wanted to say those words. The biggest concession we ever wanted to make was: two great teams contested this final, but we just missed out. Our aim was to attain that level where people said we were always on a par with Europe's best.

There's some merit in getting defeated even though I'd never want it to be a habit. Team members who are hungry for victory and take great pride in their performance will be eager to avenge defeat.

I don't like sports where it's like, you watch a guy on a motorcycle flip or something, then another guy does it, it looks exactly the same, and then at the end one guy gets higher points! It seems so arbitrary; I don't know who's ahead ever.

I watched the Tyson-Holyfield fight with Stallone. I remember when Tyson bit him, Sly looked at me and said, 'I think he bit him'. I said, 'I think you're right, Rock.'

Beckham and Frank Lampard were the ones that I particularly liked watching, and with Lampard scoring so many goals from midfield it was hard not to look up to him.

We all know what flopping is when we see it. The stuff that you see is where guys aren't really getting hit at all and are just flailing around like a fish out of water.

Normally the biggest stars, as Wayne Rooney is, are selfish but he is not.

I have played against the big England players - Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole. I never like to point out somebody because they are all great players with experience.

Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie are two of the best strikers in the league and the reason I came to the Premier League was to play against people like them.

I am an attacking batsman, but I've learned a lot about patience. There are clever bowlers who can pick your weak points, so I have to be a bit patient, play out a spell or two.

It's nice to be cheered, but I'll always have a good attitude on the pitch.

If you watch me play, you'll see how often I get kicked. I don't go off the pitch and cut myself to act like I've been kicked.

I never chased around with the opposition or got too well acquainted with them, because when the time in the ballgame came up where I had to pitch inside, I didn't want to hesitate.

I accept that I sometimes overstepped the mark, but I can tell you that, off the pitch, I've never been an overly aggressive person.

We played for the love of the game; there were few holdouts. We wanted to pitch every day; to win more games than the other guy - not for the money, but for the glory of winning.

You have to have respect on the pitch.

I don't take the ball in the middle of the pitch and dribble past six guys.

I know what is important. When I go to the pitch, I cannot laugh; I respect the other players. I try my best and put my passion inside the game.

I like to have fun, but there are moments you need to show yourself, and that, for me, is on the pitch.

I don't think anybody goes onto the pitch and wants to go backwards.

Once you're on the pitch, you play for your team, and you want to win. During the year, you can play against friends - you can play against big friends and close friends - but once you are on the pitch, this friendship goes away, and you just focus on winning the game.

In football, you can win; you can lose. The most important thing is the feeling and the attitude that you show on the pitch.

Although I will not always play well, I always give everything on the pitch.

Things tend to get easier for Barcelona with Lionel Messi on the pitch.