''If I couldn't handle the pressure, I'd have become a train engineer.''
— Giovanni Trapattoni, the Italian coach of Germany's struggling VfB Stuttgart, which has only two wins in 11 league games and exited the German Cup to a Second Division team. (Netzeitung)
''He discredited the entire profession. … [Train engineers] have a responsible job, they carry people around, they have to ensure that they reach their destinations safely. A Bundesliga coach only has to prepare and pick a team for a game, a train driver must prove his ability day in day out.''
— Statement from the German railroad union Transnet, which asked Trapattoni to apologize. (Focus Online)
''It was just a metaphor. Obviously the train engineer has a lot of responsibility. The only difference is that he doesn't stand in the public spotlight the way a soccer coach does.''
— Trapattoni. (Netzeitung)