“You must not only have competitiveness but ability, regardless of the circumstance you face, to never quit”

You can do as many sprints as you want but there’s nothing like playing in a 90-minute soccer game. There’s no better way to gain your fitness, in my opinion, than playing in consistent games.

I’m not going to tell people how to live their life and I surely wouldn’t tell people my life is the way you should be living. People get to choose what they do want to do with their life and I appreciated that.

I’ve never scored a goal in my life without getting a pass from someone else.

This might sound masochistic or narcissistic‚ I don’t know‚ but when I’m not playing the game‚ the validations I feel about life are always through the hardships. I relate more to sadness‚ in a lot of ways‚ when I’m not playing.

Playing on turf affects everything, you know, it affects the way the ball rolls, it affects the way the ball bounces, it affects the way you think about whether or not going into a slide. It’s kind of a nightmare.

To watch people push themselves further than they think they can, it’s a beautiful thing. It’s really human.

It’s not pressure. It’s responsibility We put it on ourselves.

No I or individual is better than the team. I’ve scored no goals just on my own. Every goal I’ve ever scored has been because of someone else on my team, their excellence, their bravery.

And I’m kind of the end product of a collection of a really good vibe, and feeling, and creativity on the field.

You never know if you can actually do something against all odds until you actually do it.

It’s always really challenging trying to go from player to player/coach. You have a kind of friendship basis of relationship with all of your teammates and now you go to this power position where you have to make decisions that might hurt people’s feelings.

If we can trust each other and leave everything-all our hearts-out on the field, I think we’re going to have something to come home to and cheer about.

Today was about execution, period. Every single player, all of us in the dressing room right now, we’re embarrassed because that’s not the way we want to play soccer.

I don’t care who scores the goals, I’m going to leave my human beingness on the field!

If given a really great chance, I’m going to put it away every single time.

Four goals in (16) minutes. Literally I don’t even know how that happens especially in a World Cup final.