I learned all about life with a ball at my feet.
The goalkeeper is the jewel in the crown and getting at him should be almost impossible. It's the biggest sin in football to make him do any work.
Soccer is a magical game.
I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.
Soccer is a great game, and the rich variety of styles and passions makes it really popular around the world.
Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.
Football is a game of mistakes. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes wins.
I don't believe skill was, or ever will be, the result of coaches. It is a result of a love affair between the child and the ball.
Soccer is simple, but it is difficult to play simple.
The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion when no one else is watching.
The ball is round, the game lasts ninety minutes, and everything else is just theory.
The beauty of football is it's unpredictability. Nobody knows the outcome. That's why it's so universally loved.
When people succeed, it is because of hard work. Luck has nothing to do with success.
Soccer is not about justice. It's a drama, and criminally wrong decisions against you are part and parcel of that. Accept it.
I am constantly being asked about individuals. The only way to win is as a team. Football is not about one or two or three star players.
Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.
The trouble with referees is that they know the rules, but they do not know the game.
Soccer is a game in which everyone does a lot of running around. Twenty-one guys stand around and one guy does a tap dance with the ball.