Once you consent to some concession, you can never cancel it and put things back the way they are.
Confidence doesn't come out of nowhere. It's a result of something... hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication.
Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm a special one.
The only yardstick for success our society has is being a champion. No one remembers anything else.
Soccer is a game for 22 people that run around, play the ball, and one referee who makes a slew of mistakes, and in the end Germany always wins.
You don't play triathlon. You play soccer; it's fun. You play baseball. Triathlon is work that you can leave you crumpled in a heap, puking on the roadside. It's the physical brutality of climbing Mount Everest without the great view from the top of the world. What kind of person keeps coming back for more of that?
If you are first you are first. If you are second, you are nothing.
When I first met him [James Galanis], he just said, "Look, if you want to be a professional soccer player, if you want to make the national team, you have to do everything possible to work hard. You’ve got to put it number one."
Only true champions come out and show their worth after defeat- and I expect us to do that.
It's better to have ten disorganized players than ten organized runners.
What makes the difference between a great player and just a normal player is dedication, work, commitment.
Pele called me the greatest footballer in the world. That is the ultimate salute to my life.
I've told him to cut off his ponytail. I think it makes him less aerodynamic.
I may have had a lot of luck in my life, but I still need to find a challenge in the game.
Sometimes in football you have to score goals.
I am prepared. The more pressure there is, the stronger I am. In Portugal, we say the bigger the ship, the stronger the storm. Fortunately for me, I have always been in big ships. FC Porto was a very big ship in Portugal, Chelsea was also a big ship in England and Inter was a great ship in Italy. Now I'm at Real Madrid, which is considered the biggest ship on the planet.
If you like soccer, then welcome to America. See, our country already has entertainment so watching people chase a ball for four hours to end 0 - 0 is not enjoyable - unless, of course, the bleachers collapse and half of Europe dies.
The kid makes you sick. He looks the part, he walks the part, he is the part. He's six-foot something, fit as a flea, good-looking - he's got to have something wrong with him....Hopefully he's hung like a hamster! That would make us all feel better!
What a great day for football, all we need is some green grass and a ball.
At a football club, there's a holy trinity - the players, the manager and the supporters. Directors don't come into it. They are only there to sign the checks.
I have two speeds. Fast and faster. I don't just run. I take it.
Soccer is popular because stupidity is popular.
I wouldn't say I was the best manager in the business. But I was in the top one.
In a good relationship, people get angry, but in a very different way. The Marriage Masters see a problem a bit like a soccer ball. They kick it around. It's 'our' problem.
To me, being the best means proving it in different countries and championships.
