Soccer is a game played between two teams of eleven people, where each team tries to win by kicking a ball into the other team’s goal. Inspirational soccer quotes will get you through anything when the going gets tough and help you succeed in every aspect of life.
If you’re searching for motivational sports quotes and inspiring workout quotes that perfectly capture what you’d like to say or just want to feel inspired yourself, browse through an amazing collection of top basketball quotes, greatest softball quotes and popular volleyball quotes.
Powerful Collection of Most Famous Soccer Quotes
I’m lucky to be part of a team who help to make me look good, and they deserve as much of the credit for my success as I do for the hard work we have all put in on the training ground. – Lionel Messi
I have many years to get better and better, and that has to be my ambition. The day you think there is no improvements to be made is a sad one for any player. – Lionel Messi
I am not a perfectionist, but I like to feel that things are done well. More important than that, I feel an endless need to learn, to improve, to evolve, not only to please the coach and the fans but also to feel satisfied with myself. It is my conviction that here are no limits to learning, and that it can never stop, no matter what our age. – Cristiano Ronaldo
I’ve never scored a goal in my life without getting a pass from someone else. – Abby Wambach
God gives gifts to everyone, some can write, some can dance. He gave me the skill to play football and I am making the most of it. – Ronaldinho
Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do. – Pele
It’s not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference. – Bear Bryant
Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don’t like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that. – Bill Shankly
Whether it’s a friendly match, or for points, or a final, or any game – I play the same. I’m always trying to be my best, first for my team, for myself, for the fans, and to try and win. – Lionel Messi
In football (soccer) as in watchmaking, talent and elegance mean nothing without rigour and precision. – Lionel Messi
Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win. – Gary Lineker
Everything is practice. – Pele
Your love makes me strong, your hate makes me unstoppable! – Cristiano Ronaldo
There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, there are no limits. – Unknown
Take your victories, whatever they might be, cherish them, use them, but don’t settle for them. – Mia Hamm
We must have had 99 percent of the game. it was the other three percent that cost us the match. – Ruud Gullit
The day you think there is no improvements to be made is a sad one for any soccer player. – Lionel Messi
What I do is play soccer, which is what I like. – Lionel Messi
I learned all about life with a ball at my feet – Ronaldinho
The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning. – Pelé
When you win, you don’t get carried away. But if you go step by step, with confidence, you can go far. – Diego Maradona
To see the ball, to run after it, makes me the happiest man in the world. – Diego Maradona
Good soccer players need not be titans sculpted by Michelangelo. In soccer, ability is much more important than shape, and in many cases, skill is the art of turning limitations into virtues. – Eduardo Galeano
Becoming a footballer is only the first half of the silent prayer a kid offers up to the sky or confides to his teacher in a primary school essay. The second part is the name of the team he wants to play for. – Andrea Pirlo
There are hundreds of Beckhams playing football (referring to soccer) all over the world. – Diego Maradona
I have 23 top players and they are all ready to put on the jersey and work on the pitch and that makes you happy and then you have peace of mind. – Diego Maradona
The ball is round, the game lasts ninety minutes, and everything else is just theory. – JosefSepp – Herberger
When good soccer happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it. – Eduardo Galeano
When people succeed, it is because of hard work. Luck has nothing to do with success. – Diego Maradona
I see myself as the best footballer in the world. If you don’t believe you are the best, then you will never achieve all that you are capable of. – Cristiano Ronaldo
You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it. – Lionel Messi
And one fine day the goddess of the wind kisses the foot of man, that mistreated, scorned foot, and from that kiss the soccer idol is born. He is born in a straw crib in a tin-roofed shack and he enters the world clinging to a ball. – Eduardo Galeano
Without football (soccer), my life is worth nothing. – Cristiano Ronaldo
Every season is a new challenge to me, and I always set out to improve in terms of games, goals, assists. – Cristiano Ronaldo
I have my flaws too, but I am a professional who doesn’t like to miss or lose. – Cristiano Ronaldo
I want to consistently play well and win titles. I’m only at the beginning. – Cristiano Ronaldo
Soccer isn’t the same as Bach or Buddhism. But it is often more deeply felt than religion, and just as much a part of the community’s fabric, a repository of traditions. – Franklin Foer
Everything I know about morality and the obligations of men, I owe it to football (soccer). – Albert Camus
I don’t have time for hobbies. At the end of the day, I treat my job as a hobby. It’s something I love doing. – David Beckham
In football, I don’t have a lot of friends. The people who I really trust, there are not many… Most of the time, I’m alone. – Cristiano Ronaldo
I would rather be called strong than pretty. I would rather be called muscular than skinny. I would rather be called athletic than beautiful. I would rather be called a soccer player than a girl.”
Keep working even when no one is watching. – Alex Morgan
Maybe they hate me, because I’m too good. – Cristiano Ronaldo
I have to keep working hard and playing well because I don’t like to be second or third: they’re the worst places to be. You would be proud, of course, because it means you’re on the way, but you want to finish first. – Paul Pogba
One rule that will work if it is used everywhere, is that when you have a free-kick, the referee puts the mark on the floor to make sure the defenders keep their distance. – Cristiano Ronaldo
Talent without working hard is nothing. – Cristiano Ronaldo
Winning – that’s the most important to me. It’s as simple as that. – Cristiano Ronaldo
I think sometimes the best training is to rest. – Cristiano Ronaldo
Every time I went away I was deceiving my mom. I’d tell her I was going to school but I’d be out on the street playing football. I always had a ball on my feet. – Ronaldo
The first 90 minutes are the most important. – Sir Robert WilliamBobby – Robson
Five days shalt thou labor, as the Bible says. The seventh day is the Lord thy God’s. The sixth day is for football. – John Anthony Burgess Wilson
I’m living a dream I never want to wake up from. – Cristiano Ronaldo
The players are writing a beautiful page of French football history. – Didier Deschamps
Only in sport can you live through emotions like this. We knew how to put them in difficulty, we made them run, we prepared well. – Samuel Umtiti
Tactically, the coach did a perfect job yesterday, so we know we will be fully prepared. – Antoine Griezmann
I always look forward to playing for my national team, especially at major tournaments. – Luka Modric
Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do. – Pelé
Everything is practice. – Pelé
If I pass away one day, I am happy because I tried to do my best. My sport allowed me to do so much because it’s the biggest sport in the world. – Pelé
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. – Pelé
I hope the players benefit from my experience but this is their final. It is something they have worked for and they will be able to enjoy it. – Didier Deschamps
People in football love to talk about mental strength. Well, I’m the strongest dude you’re ever going to meet. Because I remember sitting in the dark with my brother and my mom, saying our prayers, and thinking, believing, knowing … it’s [success] going to happen. – Romelu Lukaku
Our country has been through difficult experiences in terms of unity. Sport – football in particular – has the power to help that. It is a special feeling. – Gareth Southgate
A lot of people, when a guy scores a lot of goals, think, ‘He’s a great player’, because a goal is very important, but a great player is a player who can do everything on the field. He can do assists, encourage his colleagues, give them confidence to go forward. It is someone who, when a team does not do well, becomes one of the leaders. – Pelé
In his life, a man can change wives, political parties or religions but he cannot change his favorite soccer team. – Eduardo Hughes Galeano
As a kid, you obviously dream of being a professional footballer. I would watch players like Ronaldo of Brazil and pretend to be him on the playground. But I don’t think about trying to become one of the best in the world or anything like that. I just play football. – Gareth Bale
Especially the English journalists and pundits from television, they underestimated Croatia. That was a huge mistake. All their words, we took, we were reading and we said: ‘Ok, we will see who will be tired.’ They should be more humble and respect the opponents. We dominated the game physically and mentally, in all aspects. We should have killed the game before extra-time. – Luka Modric
All goalscorers go on droughts. It is how you cope with that. And it is not just about scoring, it is about what you bring to the team, bringing others into play and getting assists. – Harry Kane
The smartest thing I did is I never gave up. – Ivan Rakitic
Everything in my life has happened very early, personally and professionally. I’m always learning: I have to. – Neymar Jr.
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. – Roy Maurice Keane
The secret is to believe in your dreams; in your potential that you can be like your star, keep searching, keep believing and don’t lose faith in yourself. – Neymar
I always had a philosophy which I got from my father. He used to say, ‘Listen. God gave to you the gift to play football. This is your gift from God. If you take care of your health, if you are in good shape all the time, with your gift from God no one will stop you, but you must be prepared. – Pelé
I kept my promise to myself for a while. But then some days I’d come home from school and find my mum crying. So I finally told her one day, Mum, it’s gonna change. You’ll see. I’m going to play football for Anderlecht, and it’s going to happen soon. We’ll be good. You won’t have to worry anymore. – Romelu Lukaku
Since the beginning of the competition he has got it right, and I hope it will be the same for the final. – Antoine Griezmann
The questions around us principally come down to character; the essential ability to withstand events that go against you. – Gareth Southgate
Enthusiasm is everything. It must be taut and vibrating like a guitar string. – Pelé
Lionel Messi is a wonderful player. Very skillful. Highly intelligent. He is not good in the air. – Pelé
At 17, I already had responsibility because I took care of my family, but in the football I was young; I wasn’t experienced or the captain – I was just in the team. – Pelé
You must respect people and work hard to be in shape. And I used to train very hard. When the others players went to the beach after training, I was there kicking the ball. – Pelé
In football, the worst blindness is only seeing the ball. – Nelson Falcão Rodrigues
If you’re attacking, you don’t get as tired as when you’re chasing. – Kyle Rote, Jr.
I just hate losing and that gives you an extra determination to work harder. – Wayne Rooney
I have to be scoring goals and playing well to get in the team because, if not, others who are in better form will play. – Diego Costa
I’m going to remember to have fun this time. Life is too short for the stress and the drama. – Romelu Lukaku
Outside football, I just love life, you know. We’re lucky to play football, to have all this body. Everyone’s watching us. You see how many people, they come and watch the game. It’s unbelievable, you see how many people they come. They shout your name and just enjoy life. – Paul Pogba
There is no pressure when you are making a dream come true. – Neymar Jr.
If you weren’t with me when I had nothing, then you can’t really understand me, – Romelu Lukaku
When you buy me you are buying a Ferrari. – Zlatan Ibrahimovic
To say that these men paid their shillings to watch twenty-two hirelings kick a ball is merely to say that a violin is wood and catgut, and that Hamlet is so much paper and ink. – John Boynton Priestley
I once cried because I had no shoes to play soccer, but one day, I met a man who had no feet. – Zinedine Zidane
All my life I thank God. My family was very religious. – Pelé
Of course, my father was a soccer player. He used to play very good. Then, when I was young, eight or nine years old, ten years old, I just want to be like my father. – Pelé
I always think that I would have become an actor if I hadn’t been a soccer player. – Pelé
A penalty is a cowardly way to score. – Pelé
Sport is something that is very inspirational for young people. – Pelé
We must not let ourselves get driven off course, no matter what happens we must stick to our natural game. – Zinedine Zidane
Take the risk, or lose the chance. – Eden Hazard
I never tried to hide the fact that my only goal is to be the best – Cristiano Ronaldo
I’ve always been working hard on my speed for the last few years. Obviously, I’m not slow, but as a striker, the more speed you have, the better you are. – Harry Kane
I only think about the pitch. I want to do great. I want to be one of the best. I want to win titles. I want to achieve things. – Paul Pogba
That’s the mentality – don’t just play it, win it. – Luis Suarez
I have a need to play intensely every day, to fight every match hard. – Zinedine Zidane
The door can never be closed for good to any player. – Zinedine Zidane
When your own fans whistle and jeer, then you have a big problem. – Zinedine Zidane
It is not just about the money, it is about what you achieve on the pitch. – Ronaldinho
If TV were only an invention to broadcast soccer, it would be justified. – Roberto Fontanarrosa
I always want more. Whether it’s a goal, or winning a game, I’m never satisfied. – Lionel Messi
I have the chance to do for a living what I like the most in life, and that’s playing football. I can make people happy and enjoy myself at the same time. – Ronaldo
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. – Simon Kuper
Football boots are very technical and have lots of specific requirements. – Zinedine Zidane
Soccer is simple, but it is difficult to play simple. – Johan Cruyff
Technique is not being able to juggle a ball 1000 times. Anyone can do that by practicing. Then you can work in the circus. Technique is passing the ball with one touch, with the right speed, at the right foot of your team mate. – Johan Cruyff
Choose the best player for every position, and you’ll end up not with a strong XI, but with 11 strong 1’s. – Johan Cruyff
I always threw the ball in, because then if I got the ball back, I was the only player unmarked. – Johan Cruyff
Players that aren’t true leaders but try to be, always bash other players after a mistake. True leaders on the pitch already assume others will make mistakes. – Johan Cruyff
After you’ve won something, you’re no longer 100 percent, but 90 percent. It’s like a bottle of carbonated water where the cap is removed for a short while. Afterwards there’s a little less gas inside. – Johan Cruyff
You have got to shoot, otherwise you can’t score. – Johan Cruyff
Speed is often confused with insight. When I start running earlier than the others, I appear faster. – Johan Cruyff
Football is a game of mistakes. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes wins. – Johan Cruyff
Many people say I’m the best women’s soccer player in the world. I don’t think so. And because of that, someday I just might be. – Mia Hamm
Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good soccer. I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’ – Eduardo Galeano
It is often said in soccer that a country’s particular style of play bears the fingerprints of its social and political nature. Thus the Germans are unfailingly characterized as resourceful and organized, while Brazilians are said to dance with the ball to the free-form, samba rhythms of Carnival. – Jere Longman
Something deep in my character allows me to take the hits, and get on with trying to win. – Lionel Messi
Though the legs of a football coach are never so active on the field of play during playing time, his mind is the best or worse player on the pitch! – Ernest Agyemang Yeboah
Football is about having the best offensive play possible. I always like to play offensive football, and nobody will convince me otherwise. – Johan Cruyff
Without the ball, you can’t win. – Johan Cruyff
To win you have to score one more goal than your opponent. – Johan Cruyff
There is only one ball, so you need to have it. – Johan Cruyff
Quality without results is pointless. Results without quality is boring. – Johan Cruyff
There are very few players who know what to do when they’re not marked. So sometimes you tell a player: that attacker is very good, but don’t mark him. – Johan Cruyff
My heroes were always soccer players. – Ronaldinho
You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it. – Lionel Messi
I want to win and always have done since I was small. I don’t know if it’s in my blood or just my personality. – Diego Costa
But it’s cool. Those people weren’t with me when we were pouring water in our cereal. – Romelu Lukaku
I worry when I can’t help the team with everything I have to offer. – Luis Suarez
Football is about joy. It’s about dribbling. I favour every idea that makes the game beautiful. Every good idea has to last. – Ronaldinho
For me soccer provides so many emotions, a different feeling every day. – Ronaldinho
If you’re playing for five hours you don’t want to score goals all the time and I loved dribbling. I could score a goal, but I preferred to dribble. – Ronaldinho
Before kids can play like a pro, they must enjoy playing the game like a kid. – Steve Locker
Football is the ballet of the masses. – Dmitri Shostakovich
Football is all about sentiment; if it weren’t then we’d all support Manchester United. – Mark O’Brien
[Books are] vital to learning. Half the population doesn’t go to football matches but that doesn’t make football any less important. – John Sutherland
There are more important things in life than winning or losing a game. – Lionel Messi
Like Zidane, I want to inspire the kids. – Eden Hazard
It is a unique and special feeling when the fans sing my name. It’s incredible when I hear the song, and it’s touching that there are people who connect with you. – Philippe Coutinho
Life is like a game of soccer. You need goals. If there are no goals in your life then you can’t win. – Unknown Author
Soccer is an art more central to our culture than anything the Arts Council deigns to recognize. – Germaine Greer
To me, soccer is so much more than a ball and two goals; it connects people from all of the corners of the world. – Unknown Author
Life is like a game of soccer. You need goals. If there are no goals in your life then you can’t win. – Unknown Author
My only concern is playing. Everything else, my family looks after. In our house, everyone has a job, and my job in our house is to play soccer. – Ronaldinho
My game is based on improvisation. Often, a forward does not have the time to think too much. You have a second, rarely more, to decide whether to dribble, shoot or pass to the right or left. It is instinct that gives the orders. – Ronaldinho
Everything I know about morality and the obligations of men, I owe it to football (soccer). – Albert Camus
The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning. – Pelé
I just hate losing and that gives you an extra determination to work harder. – Wayne Rooney
The first 90 minutes are the most important. – Sir Robert William Bobby” Robson
When good soccer happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it. – Eduardo Galeano
I come from a family where soccer has always been very present. My uncles, my father and my brother were all players. – Ronaldinho
Soccer is a magical game. – David Beckham
I don’t have time for hobbies. At the end of the day, I treat my job as a hobby. It’s something I love doing – David Beckham
I just want people to see me as a hard-working footballer and someone who is passionate about the game. – David Beckham
As a footballer, you always want to test yourself against the best. – David Beckham
Soccer is not just about scoring goals. It’s about winning. – Unknown Author
Give a man a soccer ball, he plays for a moment. Teach a man to play soccer, he plays for a lifetime. – Unknown Author
I think there are a lot of things that soccer does in the communities that transcend the soccer field. – Brandi Denise Chastain
What I learned from directing, I learned from soccer, where it’s like a coach-player relationship. – Sean Durkin
I once cried because I had no shoes to play soccer, but one day, I met a man who had no feet. – Zinedine Zidane
Soccer is not just about scoring goals. It’s about winning. – Unknown Author
I don’t have time for hobbies. At the end of the day, I treat my job as a hobby. It’s something I love doing. – David Beckham
It is not just about the money, it is about what you achieve on the pitch. – Ronaldinho
Soccer is an art more central to our culture than anything the Arts Council deigns to recognize. – Germaine Greer
I learned a long time ago that there is something worse than missing the goal, and that’s not pulling the trigger. – Mia Hamm
The thing about football – the important thing about football – is that it is not just about football. – Terry Pratchett
I’m a very stubborn person. I think it has helped me over my career. I’m sure it has hindered me at times as well, but not too many times. I know that if I set my mind to do something, even if people are saying I can’t do it, I will achieve it. – David Beckham
We stay as a team. I might be England captain, but that doesn’t mean I get treated differently. – David Beckham
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. – David Beckham
My private life is perfect. If your private life and your life outside football is good, then it is good on the field for you. – David Beckham
Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing. – David Beckham
I love football, I’ve never really taken an interest in anything else. – Wayne Rooney
I play the game as honestly as I can. If the referee gives a penalty there is nothing you can do. – Wayne Rooney
When people succeed, it is because of hard work. Luck has nothing to do with success. – Diego Maradona
I think there are a lot of things that soccer does in the communities that transcend the soccer field. – Brandi Denise Chastain
If you’re attacking, you don’t get as tired as when you’re chasing. – Kyle Rote, Jr.
Something deep in my character allows me to take the hits, and get on with trying to win. – Lionel Messi
I learned a long time ago that there is something worse than missing the goal, and that’s not pulling the trigger. – Mia Hamm
You just want to keep playing consistently now and keep working hard and I’m sure the goals will come. – Wayne Rooney
Football is made up of all kinds of conflict. In a dressing room, between players, between us and the manager, between us and loads of people who don’t seem to matter. It’s constant and harsh sometimes. – Wayne Rooney
I love football, football is my life. – Wayne Rooney
In football everything is complicated by the presence of the opposite team. – Jean-Paul Sartre
Soccer and basketball are the only mainstream sports that truly plug into the modern-pulse of a dot-com society. Soccer is perfectly suited for a country of the hamster-treadmill pace, the remote-control zap and the national attention deficit-two 45-minute halves, the clock never stops, no commercial interruptions, the final whistle blows in less than two hours. It is a fluid game of systemized chaos that, no matter how tightly scripted by coaches, cannot be regulated any more than information can be truly controlled on the Internet. – Jere Longman
My father used to say, ‘If you want to know the artist, look at the art’. He was usually talking about Stanley Matthews or Don Bradman when he said it. – David Peace
The vision of a champion is someone who is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion when nobody else is watching. – Mia Hamm
I worked on my weaknesses and made them my strengths. – Sydney Leroux
[Garrincha] was the one who would climb out of the training camp window because he heard from some far-off back alley call of a ball asking to be played with, music demanding to be danced to, a woman wanting to be kissed. – Eduardo Galeano
I thought, if we could just come together as a community, even if that just meant playing soccer together, that could be the beginning of something good. Coming together as a community, as a people, creates more power than exists when individuals are fighting each other for scraps. Soccer has always brought people together. Soccer was where I would begin. – Kennedy Odede
Substitution is a true test of strength. The real performance of a player is seen not only during playing time but also and more especially when the player is substituted. – Ernest Agyemang Yeboah
As you get older you play in more important games and that is when you start thinking about what will happen if you win or lose. – Wayne Rooney
I love football so when I finish playing I would like to still be involved in it somehow and a manager would be my first choice. – Wayne Rooney
I train as hard as I can every time I train and I do extra training every day and I’ve done that since I was a young boy. – Wayne Rooney
Sometimes you have to rest in certain games, but I want to play in every game. – Wayne Rooney
There are many ways to grow football-wise. You go slow or are pushed to go faster, otherwise you get left behind. For me, there would be trouble in stopping learning. – Wayne Rooney
If you don’t score, and you have chances, you are disappointed. – Wayne Rooney
I’ve trained all my life. I’ve always been one who enjoys training so it’s not something that I think I can just stop doing. It might not be as regular but I want to keep training. – Wayne Rooney
Back in the 1930s, when men with handlebar mustaches played football in long johns and tails, and the ball was a spherical clod of bitumen, did fans weep in the stands when their team lost? No. They limited their responses to a muttered ‘blast’ or a muted ‘hurrah’ before going home to smoke a pipe and lean on the mantelpiece. – Charlie Brooker
Complaining about boring football is a little like complaining about the sad ending of King Lear: it misses the point somehow. – Nick Hornby
In football, the hero and legend status is given out far too easily for me. – Steven Gerrard
It’s too easy to blame other people in football. – Steven Gerrard
I was always determined to make it as a footballer, but if things hadn’t worked out, I’d have maybe followed my dad into the building industry. – Steven Gerrard
If you don’t play well, you have a bad game or a nightmare you know that the amount of coverage is worldwide. – Steven Gerrard
In football, the result is an impostor. You can do things really, really well but not win. There’s something greater than the result, more lasting a legacy. – Xavi
There are two types of football – there’s physical football and football talent. – Xavi
You pressure, you want possession, you want to attack. Some teams can’t or don’t pass the ball. What are you playing for? What’s the point? That’s not football. Combine, pass, play. That’s football – for me, at least. – Xavi
I spend the entire 90 minutes looking for space on the pitch. I’m always between the opposition’s two holding midfielders and thinking, ‘The defence is here, so I get the ball and I go there to where the space is. – Xavi
To be a footballer was just a dream, and I don’t believe in dreams. I only deal in what is real. To be honest, I’ve never thought about what I could get out of football or where it would take me. I just wanted to play. I’m the same now. – Thierry Henry
I always think about what I missed, and I think that was my driving force – never be satisfied with what I’ve done. – Thierry Henry
My dad always taught me to never be satisfied: to want more and know that what is done is done. That was his way of seeing the game. – Thierry Henry
That’s the way I’ve been educated: I always think about what I missed and the things that you did, you did them, so you don’t have to think about them any more. – Thierry Henry
If you are first you are first. If you are second you are nothing. – Bill Shankly
Some people think football (soccer) is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that. – Bill Shankly
Aim for the sky and you’ll reach the ceiling. Aim for the ceiling and you’ll stay on the floor. – Bill Shankly
Football (soccer) is a matter of life and death, except more important. – Bill Shankly
A lot of football success is in the mind. You must believe you are the best and then make sure that you are. – Bill Shankly
Football is a simple game based on the giving and taking of passes, of controlling the ball and of making yourself available to receive a pass. It is terribly simple. – Bill Shankly
A football team is like a piano. You need eight men to carry it and three who can play the damn thing. – Bill Shankly
If a player is not interfering with play or seeking to gain an advantage, then he should be. – Bill Shankly
Pressure is working down the pit. Pressure is having no work at all. Pressure is trying to escape relegation on 50 shillings a week. Pressure is not the European Cup or the Championship or the Cup Final. That’s the reward. – Bill Shankly
When I was growing up, you didn’t know there was a women’s national team. Now girls grow up dreaming of playing for Canada. – Christine Sinclair
I think a lot of people thought women’s soccer had arrived and it was here to stay and it was going to be huge, but that wasn’t realistic. It has progressed slowly. – Christine Sinclair
I think the thing that has sort of always separated me, even from when I was younger, is my ability to score goals. – Christine Sinclair
I have a Pomeranian dog named Nutmeg – a combination of the soccer move and the colour. It’s perfect. – Christine Sinclair
I think soccer is more respected now than it ever has been. You can see that in the numbers of young kids who are playing and the numbers of people who are coming to watch. – Brandi Chastain
I get asked this a lot: Why has soccer not succeeded? My answer is, soccer has succeeded. It is already the fastest growing youth participation sport in the U.S. It has already succeeded at the youth level, no question. – Lamar Hunt
Soccer was the first sport that my parents put me in – Channing Tatum
When you play soccer, most of the time you got to get the ball moving, but once you get into that attacking third you gotta’ be creative, you gotta’ let your talent take over. – Freddy Adu
I’m attracted to soccer’s capacity for beauty. When well played, the game is a dance with a ball. – Eduardo Galeano
Soccer isn’t very social. Plus, if you don’t like someone on the other team, you can do something about it. – Mia Hamm
To be honest with you, I never looked at soccer as a sacrifice. – Brandi Chastain
In Europe, it’s different – you eat soccer, you breathe soccer, you drink soccer. Everything is about soccer. – Thomas Dooley
I love soccer; I want to be on the field. – Brandi Chastain
Soccer is a great game, and the rich variety of styles and passions that come with being truly global makes the World Cup a nonpareil event in the universe of competitive sport. – Serge Schmemann
Over the last 10-15 years, you’ve seen soccer finally start to grow at a fast pace, start to get the recognition it deserves, and I think it has to do with all of the people who come to America from foreign countries. – Claudio Reyna
Every soccer player can be on the edge, at the limit, be the bad guy. We have to get used to it. Sometimes I am one of those. – Luis Suarez
As professional soccer players, we take our bodies to the extreme. We’re the people at the gym that look like we’re breaking the machines. Pushing our bodies to the limits is what makes us so strong and capable and Olympians. It’s not an easy thing to consistently do over and over again to your body. – Abby Wambach
Soccer is the most difficult business that we’re in, because one day you’re on top, and the next day you’re very low. – Emilio Azcarraga Jean
Soccer matches should be something special, something people eagerly look forward to, something that brightens life. – P. J. O’Rourke
I wanted to be a soccer player; I wanted to do it at the highest level. – Tim Howard
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. – Geezer Butler
What we are missing over here is the life of soccer. – Thomas Dooley
I like to watch soccer, no matter what teams or players are in the field. – Andres Iniesta
One of my biggest influences of all time would probably be one of my soccer coaches, Coach Darlington, from high school. He was always trying to get me to push myself really hard. No excuses. I always hated him, but it paid off. I think that’s what life is all about… when you push through the hard stuff and it pays off. – Jonny Weston
Soccer is my life. – Ethan Zohn
The aura of soccer is very different from other sports. – Dave Checketts
International soccer has been a big part of my love for the sport. I love the Men’s National Team. I can say that they’re my favorite sports team. – Drew Carey
I suppose young people think football is glamorous – soccer – it’s big money and the stars of it, they look good and have a great big house and a huge Ferrari. – Bryan Ferry
Playing college soccer was going to be the top of my athletic feats. I wasn’t going to the Olympics. I was a decent player, but it’s because of hard work, not because I was Freddy Adu. – Mark Zupan
I think, really, that the only way a person can open their heart to someone who is so much another is really by knowing them… whether that’s in a classroom, or a soccer team – Elizabeth Strout
I played English football – soccer – instead of American football, because we couldn’t afford the equipment. – Wally Schirra
To combat the monotony of gym workouts, I started playing soccer. I looked at workouts as training sessions. My soccer training includes squats, pushups, resistance-band work, and sprints. Ninety minutes of running became part of my love of the game rather than a chore. – Adam Richman
I love sports, and when I was playing soccer, I was always trying to be the leader on the team and the one who takes control. – Gregg Sulkin
Find a type of exercise that you love – whether it’s dance, soccer, softball, anything – just as long as it keeps you active. If you love it, you’ll dedicate yourself to it and stay involved. – Francia Raisa
Life is a soccer field, don’t you think? – Shakira
I’m not sure if I’m going to get into coaching. I’m sure I’ll stay in soccer somehow. – Abby Wambach
Soccer presented no challenge to me. Playing felt like breathing: I always had a magical connection to the ball. – Pete Wentz
As soon as I started to realize that I could make a living playing professional soccer, I went to that place where I could torture myself because I knew it would make me better for the championship game. – Abby Wambach
A game of soccer induces more than enjoyment, more than entertainment. – Rabih Alameddine
For me, soccer was a dance. – Rabih Alameddine
People have to pay a lot of money to play soccer here. – Thomas Dooley
If my soccer career were over, I would still come here because of the people. – Lorrie Fair
Quite frankly, I can’t get enough of soccer. I tell my jingoistic friends in the United States there’s a reason why it is the world’s No. 1 sport. The rest of the planet can’t be wrong. – Billy Beane
Soccer is my first love. I’ve 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. – Kyle Schmid
The game is not over till the whistle blows. Meaning don’t give up. Never give up”
Some people tell me that we professional players are soccer slaves. Well, if this is slavery, give me a life sentence. – Sir Robert Bobby” Charlton
In his life, a man can change wives, political parties or religions but he cannot change his favourite soccer team. – Eduardo Hughes Galeano
You don’t have to have been a horse to be a jockey. – Arrigo Sacchi
Soccer riots kill, at most, tens. Intellectuals’ ideological riots sometimes kill millions. – John Jay McCarthy
The ball is round, the game lasts ninety minutes, and everything else is just theory. – Josef Sepp” Herberger
The trouble with referees is that they know the rules, but they do not know the game. – William Bill” Shankly
I know more about soccer than about politics. – James Harold” Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx
Five days shalt thou labour, as the Bible says. The seventh day is the Lord thy God’s. The sixth day is for football. – John Anthony Burgess Wilson
The rules of soccer are very simple, basically it is this: if it moves, kick it. If it doesn’t move, kick it until it does. – Phillip Abraham Phil” Woosnam
A football team is like a beautiful woman. When you do not tell her, she forgets she is beautiful. – Arsène Wenger
You don’t inspire your teammates by showing them how amazing you are. You inspire them by showing them how amazing they are – Robyn Benincasa
In football everything is complicated by the presence of the opposite team. – Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre
