The first World Cup I remember was in the 1950 when I was 9 or 10 years old. My father was a soccer player, and there was a big party, and when Brazil lost to Uruguay, I saw my father crying.
When I was playing, they said soccer was a man’s world and women should remain on the sidelines, all I can say is I’m glad I never had to go up against Mia Hamm.
When football stars disappear, so do the teams, and that is a very curious phenomenon. It is like in the theatre, in a play, where there is a great star. If the star is not well, the whole cast suffers.
I don’t believe there is such a thing as a ‘born’ soccer player. Perhaps you are born with certain skills and talents, but quite frankly it seems impossible to me that one is actually born to be an ace soccer player.
George Best was the greatest player in the world.
For 20 years they have asked me the same question, who is the greatest? Pele or Maradona? I replay that all you have to do is look at the facts – how many goals did he score with his right foot or with his head?
Ronaldo has come through for the past two or three years and is the best in Europe. I think at the moment no doubt Ronaldo is the best player.
Yes, Ronaldinho is bigger than me. Exactly 4 centimeters.
Nelson Mandela was one of the most influential people in my life. He was my hero, my friend, and also a companion to me in our fight for the people and for world peace. Let us all continue his legacy with purpose and passion.
I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint.
I love people. I wanted to be with the people. I wanted to give something back what I get from football, because God gave everything to me.
Football is the best; it is the biggest sport in the world.
The biggest family in the world is football, because football has more associate – and FIFA, for example – has more associates than UNESCO.
Brazil, always they buy from the United States. The first who was sell to the United States was football.
I treat everybody the same. You know I love to be with people: the youngsters.
Always when I come to the field, I try to do my best for other people.
Brazil is crazy about football. People, they wait for this moment, but this doesn’t mean we are going to win the championship. That is the problem.
If you don’t give education to people, it is easy to manipulate them.
The bicycle kick is not easy to do.
I’ve come to accept that the life of a frontrunner is a hard one, that he will suffer more injuries than most men and that many of these injuries will not be accidental.