Quotes About Players

Players say going to a World Cup, it's one of the best parts of their career, and I can't wait.

The World Cup could be a jumping point for many players to change everything.

Of all the players at the World Cup I don't think it is too much to compare Ronaldinho with the great Pele.

I think that the World Cup is a big factor for this increased interest. I don't believe all of this is a result of just myself but also because of the others who are playing abroad.

The whole kiss-and-tell thing is a negative approach that often happens in a World Cup. We will see negative stories about the players and it can affect their confidence and the overall performance of the national team on the pitch, let alone the bid to actually stage the competition.

Now, they hold the World Cup every year, so it's like any Super Series. It's boring. To me, it's very boring. I think the players will always attend the World Cup. But for the fans, and also for most players, the Olympics and Asian Games will become more important. Nobody will look forward to the World Cup with anticipation.

I remember, the 1998 World Cup when we were Yugoslavia, I had the sticker albums of all the players, and I still remember that squad and who was playing.

I've got a massive opportunity here with a great bunch of players to represent England at a World Cup; that's my biggest focus now.

I have dreamed of Brazil all my life. As a child, I had videos of Brazil, of their World Cup wins, of Pele, and of all the big players.

For the players, these top, top, top games or these top, top, top events - like a World Cup or a European Championship - are not common but, of course, something special.

When you go to a World Cup, in midfield you need to have players who can score from distance, who can get in the box and obviously play-make.

When you have a group of players with self-belief... nine times out of 10, players can be very talented to make the roster, but they need that quality, and it is pivotal at a World Cup.

I've never been a massive advocate of international Twenty20 cricket except a World Cup every two or three years, because that gets the best players together.

Something you look at when you go into a World Cup is your depth and your players that change the game.

A burning ambition of mine is to take Scotland to a major tournament. It should be the pinnacle of any players' career to get to a World Cup finals with their country.

It's important that you prepare the players for what happens at a tournament, like a World Cup, for example. You can get a better idea of a situation. They can get to know the conditions, the atmosphere in the country, the stadiums and the journeys involved.

You always want to see the best players in action at a World Cup, and the players always want to measure themselves up to the very best.

I was lucky enough to win the Intercontinental Cup twice and I know first-hand how important international competitions like the FIFA Club World Cup are to both players and fans.

The World Cup is made up of human relationships, you have to feel how the dressing room is established, how the players interact, the responsibility, the joy, the pride, you try to balance things out. If you're hyper, you try to slow it down; if you're a bit low, you try to hype it up.

It's the inability to handle the pressure that makes a big difference between the Italian players and the England players when it comes to the World Cup stage.

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.

I'm just trying to pass Tim Duncan in championships if I can one day. That's my motivation; that's what I strive for. Tim is one of the greatest players who has ever played, so if I could get close or reach that plateau and have my name on that list.

Tim Hardaway Jr., Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis and myself - those are four guys that can score 25 points per game.

If you give time and space to players, they will make good decisions and score goals.