If you are determined and confident, there is nothing in this great existence that can stop you from achieving what you want.
I once cried because I had no shoes to play soccer, but one day, I met a man who had no feet.
Life is full of regrets, but it doesn’t pay to look back.
I reached this level by sheer dint of hard work, toiling away at scores of tricks and experiments. I used to play with the ball from dawn till dusk and just kept practising. If I wasn’t playing matches, it was trying out one on one or two against two with a tennis ball. Then I used to try aiming at certain targets. That’s the only way to learn. And if I missed the target, I kept trying until I scored
Everything I have achieved in football is due to playing football in the streets with my friends
Sometimes words are harder than blows.
Nobody knows if Zidane is an angel or demon. He smiles like Saint Teresa and grimaces like a serial killer.
I was lucky to come from a difficult area. It teaches you not just about football but also life. There were lots of kids from different races and poor families. People had to struggle to get through the day.
I may have had a lot of luck in my life, but I still need to find a challenge in the game.
You can’t get bored of winning. You can win 10 games in a row but you keep the same will to snatch the 11th. You always need more.I am proud of where I come from and I will never forget the people I grew up with.
Real Madrid is the most important thing that happened to me, both as a footballer and as a person.
I have a need to play intensely every day, to fight every match hard.
Ronaldinho is a special player, but Thierry Henry is probably technically the most gifted footballer ever to play the beautiful game.
You rarely come across the complete footballer, but Scholes is as close to it as you can get. One of my regrets is that the opportunity to play alongside him never presented itself during my career.
Zidane was from another planet. When Zidane stepped onto the pitch, the 10 other guys just got suddenly better. It is that simple.
It’s hard to explain but I have a need to play intensely every day, to fight every match hard. And this desire never to stop fighting is something else I learnt in the place where I grew up.
Every day I think about where I come from and I am still proud to be who I am: first, a Kabyle from La Castellane, then an Algerian from Marseille, and then a Frenchman.
It doesn’t matter how many times you win an award, it is always very special.
We must not let ourselves get driven off course, no matter what happens we must stick to our natural game.
Football boots are very technical and have lots of specific requirements.
I don’t know if we are the best team in the world. I am lucky to be playing alongside some of the best players around. It’s a dream.
I’m very inspired by him-it was my father who taught us that an immigrant must work twice as hard as anybody else, that he must never give up.
Ronaldinho is total class – a very, very great player. He is quick, powerful, and has extraordinary technical qualities. He is a dribbler but is also a player who can make the play for his teammates. He’s not really a No.10, a true organizer. He’s more a second attacker who can score goals and has the vision to make them.
My toughest opponent? Scholes of Manchester. He is the complete midfielder.
