The 66 most famous phrases of football and footballers
The sport of football is probably the most influential activity in people’s lives, where
football stadiums are sacred temples that replace the Church itself on Sundays , and whose players are mass idols.
The figure of the footballer or the coach, if he is famous of course, lasts until eternity, with a level of idolatry worthy of the divine prophets or the gods of Ancient Greece. Sometimes hated, sometimes loved, footballers have also combined phrases that have remained for posterity.
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The most relevant football phrases
In this article we offer you a variety of phrases that football characters have left recorded in time.
1. I am sorry for 99% of everything I did in my life, but the 1% that is football saves the rest (Maradona)
The Argentinean star showed his love for the discipline that made him famous.
2. Scoring with penalties is a very cowardly way of scoring (Pelé)
The Brazilian star had this to say about scoring goals.
3. Scoring a goal is like making love (Di Stéfano)
Di Stéfano was part of the Best Real Madrid FC, and his love for football was eternal.
4. If I hadn’t done all those bad things, PelĂ© wouldn’t have made it to second place on the world list (Maradona)
Always controversial Maradona, had a strong rivalry with another great as it was Pele.
5. I made a mistake and paid, but the ball doesn’t stain (Maradona)
This phrase from football sets the player apart from the rest of the profession, in this case because of Maradona’s shady reputation for his off-field behaviour.
6. The more difficult, the greater the sense of victory (Pelé)
The five-time world champion enjoyed the difficulty of his victories.
7. When the others went on a bender after training, I kept hitting the ball (Pelé)
Discipline and commitment, keys to success in football.
8. No player is as good as all together (Di Stéfano)
Without the team, a player can never succeed.
9. We played like never before and lost like always (Di Stéfano)
Sometimes football is unfair.
10. A game without goals is like a Sunday without sun (Di Stéfano)
Di Stéfano thus showed the boredom of a game with a 0-0 score.
11. Your hatred makes me unstoppable (Cristiano Ronaldo)
Some celebrities feed their ego and professionalism when they are hated and rejected.
12. You have to learn the trade to be the best, it’s not just about talent (Cristiano Ronaldo)
Talent is not everything, you have to train to improve and reach perfection.
13. I’d rather be a good person than the best player in the world (Messi)
Football players should set an example on and off the field.
14. I just want to win, not score too many goals (Messi)
For many, no matter what, all they need is to win.
15. Football should always be a spectacle (Cruyff)
Johann Cruyff was a turning point in the style of football.
16. Football is much more than a matter of life and death (Shankly)
It is not unreasonable to say that football is a religion for most people who follow it.
17. If you don’t have luck and people to help you along the way, you will never be the best (Zidane)
Individualism is never an option for success in sport.
18. I’d rather be a good example for children than a star (Zidane)
Like Messi, Zidane attached importance to his image off the field.
19. Cruyff was better than me, but I was world champion (Beckenbauer)
All the stars think they’re the best in the world.
20. I don’t like to lose anything, I always try to win (Messi)
The competitive gene of the world’s best is embodied in this phrase.
21. If you score goals you are the greatest, if not, you are a fat man (Ronaldo Nazário)
The fans are so demanding that one small mistake can be the condemnation of a star player.
22. You can be as virtuous as you want, but you are nothing without your team (Zidane)
Zidane is once again claiming the role of the global ensemble to be the best.
23. Football should always be played in an attractive way (Cruyff)
The Dutch star was an artist in football tactics.
24. What Zidane does with a ball, Maradona does with an orange (Platini)
This is how he wanted to compare Michele Platini to the two greats of football.
25. I want to turn history around (Maldini)
An international football figure, he became famous for his way of being and his love of discipline.
26. I was the top scorer in Europe, but I never won a World Cup (Eusebio)
For some players, competitions are their quality criteria.
27. The speed of the head is more important than the speed of the legs (Xavi Hernández)
Football is not just about hitting the ball and running.
28. It is incredible how the passion of football unites so many people (Xavi Hernández)
It is the sport that has had the most influence on a global level.
29. I may be ugly, but I have charm (Ronaldinho)
They said it was the smile personified, that of Ronaldinho GaĂşcho.
30. Thanks to soccer a miserable country can be very big (Milla)
Although some see it as a shady business, football always has a positive impact.
31. My best trophy is having met Jesus (Rivaldo)
Brazilian players were noted for their prayers and beliefs.
32. Neither all blacks run nor all whites are rich (Thuram)
Lilian Thuram had a certain vindictive character, due to his status as a black player.
33. God was with us, but the referee was not (Stoichkov)
This is how the Bulgarian player wanted to denounce the referee’s mismanagement of a match.
34. Football is unforgiving. You have to be the best every day (Figo)
Maintaining competitiveness and discipline is what leads to success.
35. I play to be happy, not to win anything (Iniesta)
Andrés Iniesta is one of those players who loves football like he did when he was a child.
36. If we lose we will be the best, if we win we will be eternal (Pep Guardiola)
Player and later coach of FC Barcelona, he played a crucial role in the best period of the club.
37. Victories belong to all and defeats to only one: I (Mourinho)
JosĂ© Mourinho was from “Special One”, and phrases like this corroborate it.
38. Success without honor is failure (Vicente del Bosque)
It’s not worth everything to win. It has to be done in a dignified manner.
39. A man with new ideas is a fool, until they succeed (Bielsa)
Novelty always generates fear and confusion, but if it succeeds it is brilliant.
40. Football is not a game, it is magic (Beckham)
Not for nothing was David Beckham part of the Galactica team.
41. All my heroes were football players (Ibrahimovic)
Some players dream about football 24 hours a day.
42. If you want to have a friend, buy a dog (Van Basten)
The Dutch star was overly professional. His words subscribe to that.
43. There are only good players and bad players (Santiago Bernabéu)
Santiago Bernabéu did not understand another classification, he had no grey areas.
44. Football is not perfect, but they insist that the referee is perfect (Del Piero)
Whenever a team loses a game, they blame the judge for the match.
45. Run like a black man to live like a white man (Eto’o)
Samuel Eto’o is among the most controversial football players in history.
46. I’m from Mostoles, not galactic (Iker Casillas)
The Spanish cancerer was always an example of humility.
47. I don’t need the golden ball to know that I am the best (Ibrahimovic)
Every player has a different point of view.
48. Soccer teams are a way of being (Platini)
They are a culture, a sign of identity for many, above their nationality.
49. Football is the only love that never lets you down (Deco)
The former FC Barcelona player expressed his passion for football in this way.
50. To treat the ball well is to treat the fan well (Valdano)
Many were the ones who gave a lot of importance to the way they played.
51. It doesn’t matter how much you run, just where and why (Zeman)
Football requires intelligence and precision, not just strength.
52. I touched Messi to make sure he is a human being (Buffon)
In this way the Italian goalkeeper praised the figure of the Argentinean star.
53. Ronaldinho is the joy of football in person (Roberto Carlos)
he’s probably the only player in the world who was loved by everyone.
54. If a footballer thinks he is above the coach: goodbye (Ferguson)
Discipline and hierarchy in this football phrase.
55. There are useful, non-essential players (Lippi)
It seems that even in football, sometimes so individualistic, no one is indispensable.
56. The press is always negative, never positive (Van Gaal)
One of the great phrases of football at the end of the 20th century.
57. The team is like an army, you have to give up your life to win (Van Gaal)
The Dutch trainer was always a spectacle on the bouncy wheels.
58. Football is a simple sport in which some people like to talk. I like to win (Capello)
Fabio Capello, player and then coach, always spoke on the field.
59. Leo Messi is a video game player, he does what he wants with the ball (Wenger)
Another of the great coaches of all time, described Lionel Messi with this phrase.
60. You have to win with a spectacular football (Ancelotti)
This football phrase was also said by a very successful coach.
61. You have to be self-critical to keep winning (Bielsa)
Self-criticism is the key to success.
62. Something allows me to take the hits and keep fighting (Messi)
It’s always been said of Lionel Messi that he’s an alien.
63. Football is constant evolution (Frank de Boer)
As in the business world, football is renewed so as not to die.
64. Spain always knew how to play, not to compete (LuĂs AragonĂ©s)
Idol and coach of the Spanish national team, explained the failures of the same.
65. The curiosity always resides in the ball (Mágico González)
For some, the ball is the most precious element in football.
66. Puskas handled the ball better with his left leg than I did with my hand (Di Stéfano)
A great one praising another great one in admiration.