"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 went to buy a pair of shoes once, and 500 scooters started to follow me." "They were waiting for me, it was all planned." "Someone must have tipped them off." "I was with my wife and daughter." "I remember saying "You can kill me, but don't touch Dalma, or I will quit playing for Napoli."" "Ronaldo Brazilian International I believe that a superstar is a reflection of what he does." "If his presence makes the difference on the pitch, if he defines a game, if he stands out from other players - that's the difference." "Alan Shearer English International" "Zinedine Zidane French International It's true, pressure is something that goes with football nowadays." "You need to accept it, and everything that it involves - the good and the bad." "Paolo Maldini Italian International Eventually you get used to it, but you need to learn to separate your professional life from your private life." "That's the only way to cope." "Nwankwo Kanu Nigerian International" "Narrated by Terence Stamp" "There was huge pressure, especially before the big games." "Not many people believed in us, but we believed in ourselves." "We wanted to do something good - and we did." "Bob Crampsey Historian, Scotland" "João Havelange Former FIFA President It began to be understood that it could reach out to all social classes, because before, there were those in the upper classes that did not want their children or sons to go professional." "Professionalism to them meant studying, being a lawyer, an engineer or a doctor." "That was the mentality." "Perhaps he could have been a little more sensible in life." "Pietro Rava Italian International He had a crazy lifestyle." "He was never home, he was always out and about, and wasn't married." "But he was a good person!" "Giuseppe Meazza Speaking in 1963 Luckily I lived near the stadium, and I managed to get there in a rush." "My team-mates and the coach looked at me disapprovingly." "It was only five minutes before the kick-off, so I quickly changed and joined the team on the pitch." "I could hear the Inter directors saying" ""We'll deal with him after the match." "We'll find out what he's been up to."" "Luckily I scored a hat trick, so afterwards no one said a word!" "Sindelar, through his early death," "Dr Wolfgang Maderthaner Historian." "Austria became a mythical figure, a legend in Vienna." "Vienna is a city where men of genius achieve early and die young." "There is the legend of Mozart and Schubert, and Sindelar fits perfectly into this frame - into the mythologisation of the genius who dies young." "Eventually the Gestapo created a special secret file on him." "He was referred to as a social democrat, a friend of the Jews, and a Czech nationalist - things which in 1938 were considered extremely subversive and dangerous." "These could provide good enough motives for a death sentence." "There is also the theory that suggests" "Sindelar may have committed suicide because of love troubles, or that a double suicide occurred." "She was Sindelar's girlfriend, she learnt that he planned to leave her." "Pepi Bican Austrian International She wanted her revenge, so she invited him to the "last supper"." "There she put some kind of poison into a bottle, and she took the bottle and drank from it first." "Then he drank from it." "That killed them both." "Other possibilities include an act of revenge from the pimp Amerika Maxl, for whom the prostitute Camilla Castagnola had worked." "It is also possible that it was indeed only a trivial and simple accident." "Dennis Compton Speaking in 1947" "I have only good things to say about him - and still do " "Jenö Buzànski Hungarian International as one of the best players in the world." "He was the captain of our team, and in those days the captain wasn't chosen." "He was simply the best player on the team, and we had to accept his leadership." "A team-mate of Puskas fell ill with tuberculosis, and he didn't have enough money." "Puskas only rarely put on his uniform, but he dressed up in his major's outfit and sat down outside the office of the Minister of Defence." "Ferenc Szepesi Broadcaster, Hungary In the waiting room were five ambassadors, ten generals, and Ferenc Puskas." "After a while Puskas got bored with waiting, opened the door, entered the room, and said to the Minister of Defence" ""Listen to me for just a moment."" ""Miska Patyi is ill, he has to be taken to hospital quickly."" ""I want a separate room for him in the army hospital." "Is that understood?"" "Then he saluted and left." "Miska Patyi was taken to hospital and recovered." "The best player I've ever seen - and I was with him for 12 years " "Francisco Gento Real Madrid was Alfredo Di Stefano, without any doubt." "And we had Puskas, too." "Both were two of the greatest football players." "It's like having two Pelés, or two Maradonas, playing with you in the same team at the same time." "It was fabulous." "When I was young, people said" ""Learn to kick with both your left and right foot."" "Alfredo Di Stefano Real Madrid Do you understand?" "That was my education." "What I learnt came from the streets, the apprenticeship of the streets, the university of the streets." "I'll always say what I feel, but without your team-mates, you won't succeed." "When you receive the trophy, you say "Thank you."" "But I also said "Thank you" to my team-mates." "I had four coaches, and with all four" "I won the European Cup as well as the league championship." "So the coaches were not very important." "The players were more important." "Reconstruction" "No one wants to be held by force." "But I recognise that they treated me well, and that is the reason I am sitting here today." "They did something for their country." "though I don't know whether they achieved what they intended." "But I excuse these people, because they had their mission." "I sometimes compare" "Pelé Brazilian International the gift that Beethoven had as a musician, or Michelangelo had as a painter." "They had a gift because God chose it to be that way." "And God chose Pelé to play football." "I think football shapes men, because it gives them discipline and even health, especially in poor countries like ours." "In the more developed countries of Europe, the United States and Japan." "children start school, then secondary school and university." "Only then do they become professional in whatever sport." "Not in Brazil and other poor countries." "No, children look to get ahead in life through football." "That was the first time I saw my father crying - because Brazil had lost to Uruguay in the World Cup final." "I asked my father "Why are you crying?"" "And he said "Brazil have just lost against Uruguay, and the party will not take place."" "I was a young boy - 10 years old - and I replied" ""Don't worry, I will win the World Cup for you."" "Maybe it's a coincidence, but a star player will make a team superior or different to other teams." "All the teams that have been the best in the world have had a star player." "Luis Carlos Barreto Film Maker Once I went to visit Garrincha in hospital." "The doctor there said" ""I'm very happy to have Garrincha here, but every time he feels better, there is a problem."" ""The nurses are queuing at his door, and he's having sex with all the nurses!"" "It was a real party." "George Best Manchester United" "I am a normal human being, with faults, desires and anxieties." "I sometimes joke that Pelé is one person, whilst Edson - who is also me - takes care of Pelé." "We have two lives, although I am a normal person." "There was no self-confidence in Dutch football." "Frits Barend Broadcaster, Holland Calvinism says "Just act normally, and by doing that, you are crazy enough."" "This is typically Dutch." "Then suddenly there's Cruijff, doing crazy things, but he also wanted to make some money." "He said "If a whole stadium is filled each week, and millions are watching us on television, then we want to see some of the profits as well."" "Johan Cruijff" "Rinus Michels Former Holland Coach is in a separate class -just like Beckenbauer." "Cruijff was an all-round football player, not only a guy who could play centre forward and score," "but also someone who could perform as what I call an "attacking playmaker", the way you see them more often today." "A genius, a man with an insight that is given to only a few players." "Oliver Bierhoff German International Franz Beckenbauer outshines everyone else in German football, not only because he is one of the world-best players of all time." "He set standards as a player, he won the World Cup, and was a top player internationally with Bayern." "Cruijff was always unhappy with the referee." "He was always protesting, always lecturing, arranging, directing." "And he had eyes in the back of his head - he saw everything, he heard everything." "He was maybe preoccupied with that because he didn't feel good within himself." "He was built like that." "He stood firm," "Jupp Derwall Former Germany Coach like the king in a game of chess." "And then he scored the goals." "It was inimitable." "I already said that he went forward, to the goal, and dragged the defence with him." "Then he went back, and got the ball from behind." "You can't imitate this." "And this is the greatness of the players, that everybody brings along a special quality - every single player." "It's not nice of me to say so, but within FIFA, it is a sin to speak highly of Maradona." "Diego Maradona Argentine International Perhaps because people such as" "Platini, Pelé or Beckenbauer attend FIFA, they are considered to be the best three in the world." "So when I beat and cleaned out all three, it's like I moved to the other gang." "No, I just played football like them, but they put on a tie, which makes a difference." "They weren't born managers, no." "No, they were born footballers." "For me it was terrible, the crowd calling me "Indian." "Indian." "Indian."" "But I didn't even have my arrow with me!" "What a pity." "Anyway, I scored two goals." "Look, I don't know much about the transfer, or how Ferlaino pulled it off." "Ferlaino used to get really angry." "I thought "Where the hell am I?"" "I had left Barcelona, where you could not speak to the club president Nunez, who I swear to God thinks he is King Juan Carlos, and it seemed to me I had ended up somewhere worse!" "He was generous, brave, with a great sense of teamwork." "Jorge Valdano Argentine International He was very responsible, taking into account his talents, because he knew what he represented for that team and for Argentina." "He didn't accept anything less than being world champion and the best player in the world." "English players are probably the most noble in the world, there's no doubt about that." "Don't get me wrong, they tackle hard." "They are not soft, but they always go for the ball." "When they have no chance to get it, then that's it for them." "That's something that we South Americans don't understand." "I had a lot of fun with Juve." "What happened was that when I first joined Napoli, they told me "Beat Juve."" "And we did." "Once we had beaten them, they said "Now for the Scudetto."" "He blossomed into an artist, but he didn't have time to develop as an adult, capable of self-control." "Vincenzo Siniscalchi Lawyer and Italian MP Of course, in some cases, self-control itself can cause problems." "But he wasn't a monster - quite the opposite." "He was like one of those characters in Alice in Wonderland," "After the first Scudetto, you now have a second." "What do you think?" "It's a shame we didn't win the two Scudetti in between..." "Mama mia!" "President, we must let the others win as well, otherwise it's boring!" "So what are we going to win next year?" "The European Cup?" "I want to win the European Cup." "So we must start thinking about next year." "You haven't told me what you think about the Scudetto, and the team." "The team has been really strong, with a great captain and great supporters." "And a great president!" "If we had played all our games in Rome, we would never have lost." "We would have won that World Cup." "But we changed cities and went to Naples." "Naples was the town of Maradona." "We missed the special atmosphere of the stadium in Rome." "I went back to Naples and tried to meet him." "He spent two days locked away, wrapped up in his blanket." "He was going through an extreme crisis." "After two days, he told me he was leaving, and he left with a broken heart." "But he had to go." "He couldn't play in the championship, and the relationship had deteriorated with the club." "Let's stop, boys." "Let's stop saying foolish things, and let's stop deceiving people." "I didn't test positive for cocaine, it was for ephedrine." "And ephedrine is allowed in basketball, baseball and hockey." "And all this in the USA, who make the drug." "They came and got me." "Look, I started taking drugs from 1983, and after that I kept playing in world championships." "When someone wants to look after themselves, they do, that's it." "The fact that I made a mistake does not mean that boys from all over the world will do the same." "They've got parents." "Nevertheless, the issue here is Maradona, and I fight every single day to avoid this problem for the sake of my daughters, not because of what other people say." "Nothing else." "The football player is a worker just like any other." "There are those who earn good money, and those who earn less." "In fact, 10 per cent of the players in the world earn good money, whilst the rest earn small salaries." "Unfortunately, they are noticed less than the ones who earn more."