""Quotes""

But how, Xavi has only been good since 09.....

Ray Hudson. King of the metaphor

A video quote by R9 about Messi



Ronaldo says he wants Real Madrid to win and the difference that messi does with the ball possession and its rare a player can accomplish that, you go with speed and every step you take is a touch of the ball. Thats the big difference it's like the Playstation right you control the ball very close to your foot and you go and change direction as you please.

Jose Luis Chilavert - "Messi is the best, he is better than Maradona," he affirmed. "At Messi's age, Maradona had not won not even 1 percent of what Messi has won."

Simeone (coach Atletico Madrid on Messi FK) - "A genius action took the game from us. It was a golazo."

Ray Hudson - "While Atlético Madrid's defenders were playing 'Baa-Baa Black Sheep', Messi was playing Beethoven's 9th."

Dino Zoff (World Cup winner 1982) - "Messi shouldn't have 3 Ballons d'Or, he deserves to have 5 already."

Pep Guardiola - "Messi is the one that makes the difference, who takes us to another level. He’ll never be repeated. He’s the best player I’ve ever seen, the best player I’ll ever coach.”

"Messi is a joke," Rooney wrote on his Twitter page after the Barcelona man scored his fourth goal of the night. "For me the best ever."

“I don't care if Ronaldo does 6,000 sit ups, he'll never be as good as Messi. True?”
Steve Nash, the NBA superstar, on Twitter

Some of them are not Barca quotes but they are funny

"Tottenham, and I hope the English fans will forgive me, are a club in mid-table and I need more."
- Samuel Eto, turning down a move from Barcelona to Spurs

"We're going to have to man-mark him."
- Roberto Carlos, after his Real Madrid team-mate Jonathan Woodgate scores two own goals

"When we kicked off and no one came to mark me I thought, 'Hello, it’s Christmas'"
- Paul Merson gives one reason for Portsmouth's 5-0 win over Millwall

"We watched the 50 greatest Premier League Goals on the team bus - and Sully must have been in 49 of them!"
- Doncaster's Richie Wellens on Rovers keeper Neil Sullivan

"I always tell Cristiano before training, 'If you do stepovers on me, I will break your legs and rip up your shirt.' I have no wish to have the mickey taken out of me all week."
- Patrice Evra, on team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo

"I tried to nutmeg him. It never came off and he gave me a slap on the back of the head and told me to start behaving"
- Steven Gerrard on his first encounter with Paul Gascoigne.

"It has been so long since Liverpool won the title, I was a 12-year-old Everton fan the last time it happened."
- Jamie Carragher, veteran Liverpool defender

Donating part of his salary to charity will not have hurt Argentina striker Carlos Tevez as much as being forced to wear a Brazil shirt in training. The 22-year-old Tevez was handed both punishments by his West Ham United team mates for storming out of Upton Park on Saturday after his substitution in their 1-0 home win over Sheffield United.
- from RTE.ie

"I earn £82,000 a week and work three hours a day but life's hard when you can't read the electricity bill."
- Hernan Crespo, explaining how his lack of English made life in London awkward

"What is your position at the company? "
"Right back."
- Liverpool Right Wing-Back Jason McAteer on a credit card form

Even Bruno N'Gotty scored.
- The Guardian, after the defender scores in Birmingham's 5-1 shocking of Newcastle

"Wait until you come to Turkey", was the shout, with fingers being passed across throats. And that was just the kit man.
- Gareth Southgate, remembering the aftermath of England's 2-0 win over Turkey

I was shocked when I was first introduced to the fans because they brought out a sheep, cut its head off and then smeared blood over my forehead.
- Manchester United's Ronnie Johnsen on life with Besiktas, Turkey

The only way we will be going to Europe is if the club splash out and take us all to Eurodisney.
- Dean Holdsworth, on chances of success at Wimbledon

Nicky Butt could not live with Xavi. The Barcelona man's first touch was better than Butt's second.
- Henry Winter, covering the not-so-friendly England v Spain game for "The Telegraph"

"You know Dennis Wise. He could start a fight in an empty house."
- Alex Ferguson

"Ninety-five per cent of my language problems are the fault of that stupid little midget."
- Gianfranco Zola remembers former Chelsea team-mate Dennis Wise

Nemanja Vidic (Man United): "The hardest team I've faced is Barcelona. I think they are definitely one of the greatest teams ever." [fifa]

Vidic: "Best player I played against? Messi, the way he plays is difficult to cope with. But not just him, it's a generation, Xavi, Iniesta"

Vidic: "What makes it difficult to play against Barça is that they play without striker, and their possession. That makes teams frustrated."

Galliani (vice-president Milan): "Messi is the best player ever. And this is said by someone who has seen Maradona and Pele play." [milanch]

Antonio Cassano (AC Milan): "Mourinho is saying that it's hard to beat Barcelona at Camp Nou? Of course it is, because they are much better than other teams, especially at home. All these accusations are false. Barcelona is unbeatable. Barca wins, because they are the best. Only volcano can win against them when it makes them to travel by bus for 40 hours. (....) Iniesta called me one day and I realised how many people cares about me as a person, not just as a footballer." (SPORT)

David Silva (Manchester City): "The best player I have ever played with is Andrés Iniesta. He is brilliant to watch, and even better to play with. He creates chances, but it's not just that. He works so hard for the whole game." [ibtimes.com]

Villas Boas: Guardiola has talked about it: the centre backs provoke the opponent, invite them forward then, if the opponent applies quick pressure the ball goes to the other central defender, and this one makes a vertical pass.
Not to the midfielders, who have their back turned to the ball, but to those moving between lines, Andres Iniesta or Lionel Messi, or even directly to the striker.
Then they play the second ball with short lay-offs, either to the wingers who have cut inside or the midfielders, who now have the game in front of them.