2011 has been incredibly hectic in the world of football, and who better to tell you this than the personalities themselves?! From Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s infamous autobiography outburst to Pele’s never ending self-praises (groans all around), Ronaldo taking a jab back at opposition fans to the rise of women’s football in Japan, there was really no shortage of entertaining quotes this year. Here, we pick out some of the best!
“The king of Rome is not dead. He’s alive and well.”
- Francesco Totti
“You might end up being embarrassed when you’re dealing with a Zidane or a Rivaldo. It’s better to let them control the ball, look around and pass it to someone else.”
Rivaldo
“Silvio Berlusconi said that Cassano is the most talented Italian player. He’s either wrong or he doesn’t know Balotelli.”
Mario Balotelli
“I’ve been a national team member for 18 years, so this has been a long, long wait. I’ve been through the difficult times for women’s football in Japan, so I really feel relieved. It doesn’t feel like reality.”
Homare Sawa- (Japan’s Women World Cup winner)
“The fans whistle me because I’m good-looking, rich and a great footballer. They’re jealous. I don’t have any other explanation.”
Cristiano Ronaldo
“Guardiola was so happy with [Lionel] Messi, he didn’t even bother looking at me. I told him I was a Ferrari and that he was driving me like a Fiat. I wasn’t part of his plans after that.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
“Nobody’s achieved what Pele has. He was a world champion at the age of 17, won three World Cups, and scored more than 1,208 goals. No-one else has done that up to now. That’s why, to my mind, Pele is the best.”
Pele
“It’s hard to find sincere women these days. They either want to be seen with you or something else. But this is fame.” (original article)
Neymar
“I don’t want to turn Torres into an obsession like you people are trying to do. Every time a player doesn’t score, I am asked questions about him. I agree that Torres is a £50m striker but my focus is purely on the performance of the team, not the individual.”
Andre Villas-Boas
“He spends his days off picking mushrooms in the country, so he can’t be a bad lad.”
Pep Guardiola on Xavi
“Sometimes, it’s disgusting to live in this world, but this is apparently our world. Once again, we see that you don’t stand a chance against Barcelona. Uefa doesn’t allow any team to really do something against them. I really don’t know what’s behind all this. Maybe it’s their ties with Unicef or maybe it’s because they just find Barcelona a sympathetic club. I’ve been wondering about this all my life and I’ll get an answer one day.”
- Jose Mourinho
“Even the weather was nice when I arrived. I don’t see the difference from London and I am here to play football, to enjoy it and win the title.”
- Samir Nasri upon his move to Manchester City
Photos via AP & Gettyimages
