“I’m really proud that we didn’t lose faith in the way we can play on the road.”
— San Jose Earthquakes coach Frank Yallop after his team ended a 20-game road winless streak with its first away win in 477 days when it downed D.C. United, 2-1. (San Jose Mercury)
“There is no better psychological education than growing up in a pub, because when you are 5 or 6 years old you meet all different people and hear how cruel they can be to each other. You hear the way they talk to each other like saying ‘You’re a liar.’ And from an early age you get a practical psychological education into the minds of people. … I even learned about tactics and selection from the people talking about soccer in the pub … who plays on the left wing and who should be in the team.”
— Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger credits living in a pub for helping to shape his outlook on life and knowledge of soccer. Wenger’s parents owned a bistro called La Croix d’Or in the little French village of Duttlenheim where he would spend hours in the company of the soccer-loving customers. (Reuters)
“A friend of mine told me about it on the phone and I was hurt, wounded. Will I throw it again? We’ll see …”
— Roma striker Francesco Totti after Roma fans, apparently disappointed in the team’s slow start, threw his shirt back on the field after he tossed it into the stands following a 3-1 victory over Fiorentina. (Goal.com)
“The visit was part of a charity event and had been planned for a long time. However, it was not agreed with the club. Of course I accept the measures taken by the sporting management. That evening, I drank only half a Radler [a beer and lemonade] and then mineral water after that. I drove myself home later on.”
— Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, who was suspended by his club VfB Stuttgart for at least one game for attending the Munich Oktoberfest a few hours after a 2-0 loss in which he gave up a soft goal. (Independent)
“It is not that the club asked me to win the Champions League – they asked me to win the Champions League, the Premier League, the FA Cup and the League Cup.”
— Carlo Ancelotti, whom Chelsea hired as head coach last summer, outlines the club’s expectation. (Irish Times)
“Had the referee blown 30 seconds or so earlier, at which point everyone other than United fans were convinced the game was over, we’d have been a substantial seven figure sum better off.”
— Graham Sharpe, spokesman for bitter bookmakers William Hill, which lost $1.6 million to bettors who waged that Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal would all win last weekend. Michael Owen scored Man U’s gamewinner in the sixth minute of stoppage time. (Reuters)
“People talk about the best being Pele or Diego Maradona, but for me the best player ever was Alfredo Di Stefano. Maradona was a great player, but he could not kick with his right foot and did not score goals with his head. The only time he scored an important goal with his head, it turned out he had used his hand.”
— Pele, while others are focusing on Diego Maradona‘s struggles as Argentina’s coach, throws a different blow. (AFP)
“You ask 100 people, 99 will say it’s very bad and the hundredth will be Mark Hughes.”
— Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger reacts to Manchester City coach Mark Hughes‘s reaction to Emmanuel Adebayor stamping on Robin van Persie‘s face. Hughes expressed his support for Adebayor and said his striker should be “cut a bit of slack.” Adebayor faces a three-game ban. (BBC)
“I will embrace him at the start. After that, for 90 minutes I don’t want to know his name.”
— Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho on former player Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who returns to the San Siro on Wednesday with Barcelona, which faces Inter in their opening game in the UEFA Champions League. (The New York Times)
“This is what they do on TV.”
— What Franscio A. Cruz said when he was asked why he ran onto a soccer field in the middle of a Centinela Soccer League game and dropped his pants and underwear after a goal. The 22-year-old Wisconsin man was tentatively charged with lewd and lascivious behavior. (Wisconsin State Journal)
“I said to Nana: ‘You’re not the best looking kid, so go and put your head in there'”
— Toronto FC coach Chris Cummins jokes about defender Nana Attakora‘s first MLS goal, a header that provided his team with the third goal in a 3-2 triumph over Colorado. (Toronto Sun)
“It’s hopeless. We are not a team, we are a collection of individuals – and even the individuals are not showing up.”
— Osvaldo Ardiles, Argentine 1978 World Cup winner and former teammate of Diego Maradona, who as coach of Argentina has put the team in danger of missing the World Cup for the first time since 1970. (New York Times)
“I am not afraid of criticism. I am afraid of nobody. I am doing my job, I have my team and I am going to go forward. I have been battling critics since I was 15 years old. Now I am 48 and I am going to continue to battle with them.”
— Argentina coach Diego Maradona after a 1-0 loss to Paraguay marked his team’s fourth loss in its last five World Cup qualifying games. (FIFA.com)
“They give us a physical dimension — the speed the strength — to keep defenses on their heels. I think both are improving in terms of the understanding between them and also the overall sense of how to play within the team. It’s progress for sure.”
— U.S. coach Bob Bradley on the striker duo of 19-year-old Jozy Altidore and 23-year-old Charlie Davies. (AP)
“If I say anything, I get a fine. I can’t say anything. What I will say is, look at the video and make your own conclusion.”
— Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman does his best not to say anything about Referee Ricardo Salazar‘s penalty kick call that set up D.C. United’s equalizer in a 2-2 tie. (Yahoo)
“I have four players who can play there – [Aaron] Lennon, David [Beckham], [Shaun] Wright-Phillips and [James] Milner.”
— England coach Fabio Capello, who left David Beckham on the bench during a 2-1 friendly win over Slovenia while the other three midfielders he’s competing for a spot in the lineup saw action. (The Mirror
“It’s not what you’re hoping for. Soccer is crazy sometimes. You take the initiative in games, but it doesn’t always mean you’re going to score. Ultimately, you hope it’s something you can turn around, but it’s nice to see everybody understand that the game’s not over when we fall behind.”
— U.S. coach Bob Bradley after his team was stunned by El Salvador but came back for a 2-1 win in its World Cup qualifying game on Saturday.
“Pressure is a man who has to get up for work at 5:30 a.m., not a soccer match.”
— Diego Maradona, denying he is feeling the strain of his job as Argentina’s national team coach. Argentina is under intense pressure to beat archrival Brazil Saturday in their World Cup qualifier in Rosario. (London Times)
“I think he’s the epitome of a captain. He’s capable of playing with the best players. He’s an intelligent and gifted footballer. He’s also a good athlete, and given that those legs are starting to get on in years now, he still covers a lot of ground. He can mix it with the best people in the league. It’s not always about the finer points. I thought those finer points we still achieved to a decent degree. But those other qualities are very, very hard to come by in players. Very hard.”
— Rapids coach Gary Smith focuses on the positives of his captain, Pablo Mastroeni, who is suspended because of caution points this weekend and has been banned for two additional games and fined $1,250 by MLS for a hard foul against Houston last Sunday. Mastroeni now has 69 yellows and seven reds since joining the league in 12 seasons.
“He has wanted to play overseas for some time and we certainly support his decision to pursue this dream. The Fire has appreciated his significant contributions to the club over the last few years. He is a talented and passionate player and we wish him the very best and hope that he can end his time here by winning a championship.”
— Chicago Fire technical director Frank Klopas on midfielder Chris Rolfe, 26, moving to Danish club Aalborg on a free transfer in January. The Fire already lost defender Bakary Soumare, this midseason, to French club Boulogne. (Chicago Tribune)
“I find it a complete disgrace and unacceptable. We won’t accept the way we have been treated in this case for two reasons. I believe that you can debate whether it was a penalty or not. For me, it’s a witch-hunt that we see and not an objective judgment of a case. This charge implies there was intent and a desire to cheat the referee. Having watched the [video] again, there was nothing conclusive.”
— Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger on UEFA suspending Eduardo for two games for diving. Referee Manuel Gonzalez awarded a penalty kick in the Champions League game after Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc threw himself at Eduardo’s feet while missing the ball. Early in 2008, Birmingham’s Martin Taylor was suspended for three games for a horrific tackle that inflicted a compound fracture on Eduardo and sidelined him for a year. (Independent Online)
“What interests me could really be a life experience, and to go and discover soccer in the United States, if I was to continue playing.”
— French midfielder Patrick Vieira, a World Cup winner in 1998, says he’s interested in MLS. The 33-year-old, who has had injury problems, saw limited playing time at Inter Milan last season and is fighting for playing time this season, the last of his contract. (AP)
“Michael Bradley is a young player, who for his age brings a lot, and for me has always been a starter. But in the last weeks he has played unfortunately and has made mistakes. It’s not so much about the mistakes as it is how he reacted to his mistakes. A young player must realize his mistakes to move ahead.”
— Borussia Moenchengladbach coach Michael Frontzeck explains why he benched 22-year-old American midfielder Michael Bradley last weekend, when Gladbach beat Mainz, 2-0. (TorFabrik.de)
“I couldn’t believe how great everyone was singing, on key. It was rough men singing gently. It was an excellent experience. I want to learn more and more. I kept asking questions, ‘How many teams are in the league?’, ‘How many games?’ — until I was told to shut up.”
— American actor Adam Sandler, in England to promote his new movie, “Funny People,” describes attending the Fulham-Chelsea game. (4thGame.com)
“I felt extremely angry when he did not fall when he was fouled. He should have fallen down and given us a chance because we could have drawn the game.”
— Volker Finke, coach of Japanese club Urawa Red Diamonds, which didn’t get a penalty-kick call during 2-1 loss to Sanfrecce after striker Sergio Escudero stayed on his feet after he appeared to be fouled. (People’s Daily)
