'The ball doesn't sweat' - and 99 other quotes from soccer greats

Soccer, often called the "beautiful game," extends its joys and lessons beyond the field. It's a sport that has inspired players and coaches across generations. Soccer enthusiasts draw inspiration from legendary figures such as Pelé, Cruijff, Maradona, David Beckham, and contemporary icons like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Erling Haaland. These figures have provided motivational mantras that resonate widely.

This random collection of soccer quotes is an inspiration source, encapsulating the essence of soccer and its ability to motivate, confront, laugh, and uplift.

"People come to the stadium to forget their lives for 90 minutes, and it's up to us to give them satisfaction; to get them out of their chairs and to fall asleep with stars in their eyes." - Kylian Mbappé
"Soccer is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes, and at the end, the Germans always win." - Gary Lineker
"Soccer stadiums are just a reflection of what is happening in society. Many times in stadiums, people feel more relaxed and say what they think." - Samuel Eto'o
"Soccer is played with the head. Your feet are just tools." - Andrea Pirlo
"We haven't achieved tremendous things yet with the U.S., so I think everybody wants to be the first one, and that's why everybody is so motivated to develop yourself and to win the first big trophy for the country." - Sergino Dest
"Behind every kick of the ball, there has to be a thought." - Dennis Bergkamp
"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
"You can have all the money you want from playing soccer but being appreciated for winning trophies and creating so many memories that live longer than any car or house you can buy motivates me. To try to create memories that I'll remember and that other people remember forever." - Jude Bellingham
"Soccer is an art like dancing is an art - but only when it's well done does it become an art." - Arsene Wenger
"Messi doesn't need his right foot. He only uses the left and is already the best in the world. Imagine that he would also use his right foot, then we would have serious problems." - Zlatan Ibrahimovic
"There would be no debate about who was the best footballer the world had ever seen, me or Pele. Everyone would say me." - Diego Maradona
“Money is not a motivating factor. I do what comes to me at that moment.” - Diego Maradona
"You have to go into the game hungry. It doesn’t matter what happened before, if you scored three goals if you scored zero goals, if you haven’t scored in a while." - Erling Haaland
"Nothing makes me happier than running out there like a crazy guy celebrating a goal." - Erling Haaland
"People talk about tactics, but when you look at it, tactics are just players. You change things so that the team can get the most out of the skills they have to offer, but you don't go any further than that." - Pep Guardiola
"This was how Johan Cruyff worked. He was demanding a lot, but when you got there and were on his team, he was an incredible protector. He would push and push you, and then he would protect you. He was a master at handling players. He knew when you needed to be pushed or protected."- Pep Guardiola
"All the managers in the world, it doesn't matter how good you are, if your players don't understand what you are looking for or what you want, it makes no sense." - Pep Guardiola
"Sometimes words are harder than blows." - Zinedine Zidane
"The ball doesn't sweat." - Fabio Capello
"Anyone can have a good day, but you have to be able to perform on a bad day." - Jürgen Klopp
"When we have the ball, the other team has to run. The most important thing is for the players to be prepared to be a little bit wild." - Jürgen Klopp
"Some people might have better technique than me, and some may be fitter than me, but the main thing is tactics. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust, and daring. In the tactical area, I think I have more than most other players." - Johan Cruijff
"If you want to play faster, you can run faster, but essentially, the ball determines the speed of the game." - Johan Cruijff
"Soccer is a game of mistakes. The one who makes the fewest mistakes wins." - Johan Cruijff
"As long as you have the ball, the opponent can not score." - Johan Cruijff
"Soccer should never be a worry. It should be exciting. When a child plays soccer outside, he doesn't need to worry. Professionals should be the same." - Johan Cruijff
"As a soccer player, you always want to test yourself against the best." - David Beckham
"We’ve tried to give our children the most normal upbringing possible. But you’ve got a dad who was an England captain and a mom who’s Posh Spice. They could be little shits, and they’re not. That’s why I say I’m so proud of my children, and I’m so in awe of my children and the way they’ve turned out." - David Beckham
"It's like a toaster, the ref's shirt pocket. Every time there's a tackle up pops a yellow card." - Kevin Keegan
"I have learned that the biggest stars and the greatest players are the most humble ones, the ones who respect people the most." - Kylian Mbappé
"There is no bad time to laugh. I always joke, even five minutes before a game. It's not bad to stay a little immature." - Kylian Mbappé
"The trouble for today's footballers is they have too many distractions. We used to get our old players coming to watch training with soccer magazines in their hands. Now, more often than not, they are checking the share prices." - Franz Beckenbauer
"I kept my speeches short as captain. I focused on the key points of the opposition of the day. As a coach, I was never afraid to give long speeches to the players throughout our preparations. They needed to have all the information possible." - Franz Beckenbauer
"You either lose your way or break through the hardships and play well. There is a massive difference." - Shinji Kagawa
"You have to work more than your adversary." - Jürgen Klinsmann
"There is no honor in soccer." - Alexi Lalas
"The advantage doesn't come because you can run more than someone over 90 minutes. The advantage comes when, in the tenth minute, I sprint back and make another guy chase me. By the end of the game, that guy's worn down, but I can still keep going at the same pace." - Landon Donovan
"I've never asked a player if they would sign my shoe." - Landon Donovan
"Sometimes, you mustn't think about risking your career and make a decision right from your heart" - Pavel Nedved
"I knew the training pitch better than anyone. When others went out clubbing, I went to sleep. When others had Christmas, I went out in the woods to run." - Pavel Nedved
"I honestly cannot explain why my relationship with fans is so strong, but possibly, it's due to how I see soccer. I have always seen it as the result of great sacrifice, sacrifices you make every day for the victories, and hard work." - Pavel Nedved
"Soccer is simple. But it's difficult to play simple." - Johan Cruijff
"There is no pressure when you are making a dream come true." - Neymar
"The World Cup is a significant way to measure the good and great players. It is a test of a great player." - Pelé
"Everything is practice." - Pelé
"I always had a philosophy which I got from my father. He used to say, 'Listen. God gave you the gift to play soccer. 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
"Sex before the game? No problem. But I don't allow it at half-time." Berti Vogts
"Success is not winning the World Cup. It may be a goal in your mind. To me, success is having a team that is improving all the time." - Berti Vogts
"The more people who come from abroad who played soccer and are brought up playing it and watching it, then come over to America and bring what they know and what they play, that's how the sport will grow." - Claudio Reyna
"I used to dream about taking the ball 'round the keeper, stopping it on the line, and then getting on my hands and knees and heading it into the net. When I scored against Benfica in the 1968 European Cup final, I nearly did it. I left the keeper for dead, but then I chickened out." - George Best
"In 1969, I gave up women and alcohol - it was the worst 20 minutes of my life." - George Best
"Small players learn to be intuitive, anticipate, and protect the ball. A guy who weighs 90 kilos doesn't move like one who weighs 60. In the playground, I played against much bigger kids and I always wanted the ball. Without it, I feel lost." - Andres Iniesta
"Cruyff was one of the best; he was my hero and example. He was a star at the same time as George Best and was fantastic to watch. I knew him later on. He became my trainer, adviser, team-mate, and opponent. It was easier for me to play with him than to speak to him." - Marco van Basten
"I never think about the play or visualize anything. I do what comes to me at that moment. Instinct. It has always been that way." - Lionel Messi
"The day you think there are no improvements to be made is a sad one for any player." - Lionel Messi
"As a soccer player, the goal isn't to be very bulky. It is more important to even your body out. Make sure your body is well-rounded. You can't focus on one area. Everything has to be balanced."- Jozy Altidore
"My game is based on improvisation. Often, a forward does not have the time to overthink. 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
"Modern soccer is increasingly dominated by the coaches - their narcissism to put themselves above the team and their players." - Roberto Baggio
"Every day growing up, I had this dream about the World Cup: I score the winning goal. In the final minute. With my butt!" - Roberto Baggio
"At times like that, it's difficult to remember what's at stake, that history is in the making. As a player, you feel so cut off sometimes. It can be tough... Which is why it is an enormous advantage to play at home." - Michel Platini
"For me, soccer is just a game, not a drama." - Michel Platini
"A talented soccer player comes over, his family depends on him, and if his agent or club don't treat him well, he might fail, and then he feels he's let everyone down. For years, African players have been exploited." - Nwankwo Kanu
"Since we are not robots, we can't always perform well." - Son Heung-min
"Coaches can teach you two things: confidence and technique." - Didier Drogba
"I have won many trophies in my time, but nothing will ever top helping win the battle for peace in my country." - Didier Drogba
"Going 33 games unbeaten is no coincidence." - Luka Modric
"You need to believe. If you don't believe, you can never get anything." - Luka Modric
"The mistake is to imagine that perfection is possible when the very idea is unthinkable." - Luis Figo
"Once they said they can only stop me with a pistol, but today you need a machine gun to stop Messi." - Hristo Stoichkov
"Maradona is the last player I truly idolize... No other soccer player is more worthy of the number 10 shirt than him." - Hristo Stoichkov
"I'm not going to change the world. You're not going to change the world. But we can help - we can all help." - Cristiano Ronaldo
"I see myself as the best soccer player 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
"There's no point in making predictions. It's not worth speculating because nothing is set in stone, and things change constantly in soccer. Today, there are opportunities that no one knows if they will come around again in the future." - Cristiano Ronaldo
"I don't believe skill is, or ever will be, the result of coaches. It is a result of a love affair between the child and the ball." - Roy Keane
"Players tend to get anxious if they've not done things properly - like eating, resting or training. If you're fully prepared, you've got nothing to worry about - it's just a game of soccer." - Roy Keane
"Why don't you think we should dream of an African team winning the World Cup for the first time? People never allow this thought to cross their minds, which is shameful. When you try even to say it, people look at you as if you're joking, but they forget that dreaming is the first step to success." - Samuel Eto'o
"Sometimes, the fact that you're a soccer player makes you think that racism can't happen to you because you bring that passion and express many things. When it happened to me, I couldn't believe it, and in that moment, I decided to walk off the pitch." - Samuel Eto'o
"If you win the midfield, you probably win the game. But that doesn't mean the midfield players are the ones who determine that because now we have strikers who drop into midfield and defenders who move up into the midfield. It is the area you must dominate." - Xabi Alonso
"Once, players came to soccer expecting to be wealthy when they retired. Now, they expect to be wealthy before they've played their first game!" - Jose Mourinho
"I hate to speak about individuals. Players don't win you trophies, teams win trophies, squads win trophies." - Jose Mourinho
"You cannot score ten goals from 10 shots - that's impossible. We're just human beings. In the end, you do your job. I do my job as best as possible." - Mohamed Salah
"Players can play badly, and certainly when you have only three or six days of training in your legs, and have to play 45 minutes. Everybody can say that it's easy to step in, but it is not easy." - Louis van Gaal
"You need always guts to put youngsters in the squad and also in the line-up." - Louis van Gaal
"People have no idea how hard soccer is, absolutely no idea. It's all about pace. You can say, 'Yeah, you've got speed of thought' - but you've got to have a little bit of a zip." - Gary Lineker
"The best, most successful managers in the modern era can keep a player happy even if he is not in the team. Given the size of the squads and the use of rotation nowadays, that's tougher than it's ever been." - Gary Lineker
"Soccer is spectacular, and it has to stay spectacular in every sense. I think it can be exciting watching a game without offside." - Marco van Basten
"You tell them that all your experience tells you this is the best way to beat the opposition. You persuade them, drill them, and tell them so many times they can hear you when they go to sleep. Then, on the day of the game, you stand on the touchline and hope to God that it works." - Carlo Ancelotti
"The formula to beat the press is simple; the execution is tough. If you can do so, you pass your way through it. And if you don't, you boot it over the top. And then it becomes a game of winning second balls." - Carlo Ancelotti
“We all end up yesterday’s men in this business. You’re very quickly forgotten." - Jock Stein
"The players start to recognize your game and know how you move, pass, and shoot, making it more difficult for you. So now I need to improve and work harder because they understand me better. I need to understand better the difficulties they have themselves." - Bruno Fernandes
"When you play for your country, it means the world. You're playing for a whole nation. You're representing a whole nation. They're all behind you, supporting you. It just means everything." - Bukayo Saka
"I've always wanted to have the courage to play, to be the one that's visible when everyone's heads are down." - Bukayo Saka
"Often, I'd say I understood the coach, then do my own thing on the field. I play on intuition, but I think a lot about the game as well" - Frenkie de Jong
“Coach Ferenc Puskás goes, ‘We will win 5-4 every week, and I’ll enjoy it’. I was a defender, so we copped four goals, and I was, like, ‘Shit,’ but he was buzzing because what a game. 'They scored great goals, and we scored great goals'. All he wanted to do was to outscore the opposition. That’s just not right, I thought. But it was right because what it did was, for us as players, it released us of that fear of, ‘Oh, we’ve just conceded a goal, what a tragedy’. It became, ‘Oh, we’ve conceded a goal. Let’s go up and score two. It doesn’t matter; it’s all right." - Ange Postecoglou
"Just know either side of you, you’ve got someone you can rely on. So if you fuck up, they’ll make it up for you. And next time they fuck up, you’ll make it up to them." - Ange Postecoglou
"My first girlfriend always complained about me not spending enough time with her. One day, she made me choose between her and soccer. I miss her sometimes." - Erling Haaland
"A World Cup without me is not a World Cup. So there is nothing to look forward to at all." - Zlatan Ibrahimovic
"It’s not about the name on the back of your shirt, it’s about the badge on the front.” - Patrick Viera
"You owe it to yourself to be the best you can be.” - Christian Pulisic
The moment I've got a ball at my feet, I'm happy." Thierry Henry