Quotes About Soccer

It seems that soccer tournaments create those relationships: people gathered together in pubs and living rooms, a whole country suddenly caring about the same event. A World Cup is the sort of common project that otherwise barely exists in modern societies.

you are brought face to face with the great question about the soccer coach: Does he really matter? It turns out that coaches or managers (call them what you like) simply don't make that much difference.

If you work for a soccer club, your goal is generally to keep working there, not to be shown up by some overeducated young thing who has actually learned something about business. In part this is because much of the traditionally working-class soccer industry distrusted education.

Since I was a kid, I've wanted to do sports for a living. In the beginning, I played a lot of soccer, but in the end I chose tennis. I love sports in general ... But tennis is my passion.

I'm loving motherhood. It's way harder than soccer, but I love a challenge.

I love scoring goals for England and playing for England. That's one of the reasons I didn't retire - I love playing for my country.

I never learned the secret handshake. That may be one of the reasons I've grown to love English soccer.

I love soccer. That's all I ever watch. I'll watch it all day if I can. But I'm too bloody old to play now.

Soccer is my first love. Ive been playing since I was 4 years old. I traveled the world doing it. I broke my leg when I was 16 or 17, and acting kind of filled the void.

When I was playing for the reserves, if you got a call-up you got a straight £30. I'd never been paid for football!

I was really shy when I was back in Brazil, so coming to Europe was very tough. I was arriving as a kid fresh from Brazil into a big team like Inter with a lot of star names.

I play football. Chelsea is my favourite side.

I've never, ever set my sights on getting 100 - it's more my family. My dad's been counting down the caps for every single home game, and he's been to every single one I've played in England.

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

When Chelsea signed Ashley Cole I was playing really well at the time, and we were playing against Charlton. We were 1-0 up when they equalised and immediately afterwards my number came up and I was subbed off for Ashley. I knew then that my time at Chelsea was up.

I was at Watford and got a knock-back when I was 16 and didn't get a YTS contract. They said I could find another club or go in and train three times a week after school. I'd been there since I was 10, so I got my head down and proved them wrong. Within a year, they had signed me up, and I haven't looked back.

Before I signed for Liverpool, I was playing for Newcastle as a No. 10 - basically, I was always attacking. I didn't have to do much defensive work; I didn't play as the No. 6 or the No. 8.

Me, all-time topscorer - who would have thought that when I signed for Napoli?

Kevin Hitchcock, the goalkeeping coach at QPR, is an old mate, and I came to work for him on the understanding that I was first choice. If he'd said to me, 'We're also going to sign someone who's won Serie A five times and the Champions League and is one of the biggest names in South American football,' I would have thought twice before signing.

I'm not someone who can do 10 stepovers or backheels - I'm not very interested in that. I'm more fascinated by the simplicity of play because the thing that makes this sport so beautiful.

When I was 6 years old, I played on a coed indoor team. We were called the Cosmos. And then, after that, when I was 7, I played on an all-girls club team.

The No. 9, a team's centre forward, is a number that means a lot and, God willing, I hope to inherit it some day.

I was not guaranteed a starting place at Everton. I had a lot of injuries. Darron Gibson and Marouane Fellaini were in form, so it was a push for me to get in that side.

Arjen Robben, for instance, is a good player, and he helped me a lot with the international team.