Saturday 06 June 2020, 13:35

The Week in Quotes

"Until we all acknowledge what is going on in the world, we really are going to be on this uphill battle for a very long time. If anyone on my team had a question, I hope that they would come up to me and ask. I would love to talk about anything so that I can help them see the world and understand what it is going on. We learn at a young age to include everybody, and even though we don’t look the same or act the same or come from different backgrounds, it’s so important to have a collective group, and an understanding that we’re all different." Crystal Dunn [The Athletic]

"Social media is shining a light on everything that’s kind of going on, that’s always been going on, because people have phones and they can whip them out and somebody can post, “Oh, well, this happened, and this happened,” and it quickly escalates. But it’s also a conversation that should be had almost every day until it’s changed, and I think I’ve realized that for myself. Not that I don’t do things, not that I don’t have conversations and try to donate time and money to different foundations and donor meetings and things like that, but it’s gotta be more if I want more for the future, and that’s not just me — that’s everybody." Adrianna Franch [The Athletic]

"As a white person, there’s a responsibility for us. We need to educate ourselves and we need to learn and try to understand as best as we can. We, as white people, will never know what it is like to be a black person in America. And so it’s so critical for us to do what we can and, starting off on that, that’s educating ourselves. And so that’s kind of what I was trying to put out with the books that I recently ordered to add to my reading list." Becky Sauerbrunn [The Athletic]

"Everything begins with the education of children. That’s the most important thing. No child in this world is born a racist. It's up to the parents and what they tell their children. The worst thing that could happen would be for my children to experience such things. It’s vital that we teach them that racism isn’t acceptable and that, should they see someone being abused, they should defend them and speak up. That has to start in school. It has to be an integral part of the curriculum. Only in that way can we make progress." Jerome Boateng [DW]

"I was lucky to be very close to him for some of his goals, I saw how fast he was moving, it was even difficult to catch him to celebrate goals, he was still at the same speed." Oscar Garcia [Marca]

"It will be different to play without a crowd. It will be like being without the condiments to make a good salad. Eating a salad without oil, vinegar and salt is not the same." Sergio Conceicao

"I trained with him for nearly a year and I remember I used to watch someone hit a ball towards the top corner and from nowhere he would fly across and save it like Spider-Man! I was like ‘wow what a guy.'" Tomasz Kuszczak on David de Gea [MUTV]

"Winning La Liga and the Champions League with Barca would be a dream, and also my objective. After that winning whatever comes. There’s another World Cup so the World Cup in Qatar. And after that MLS. I don’t know with which team, but I really want to play there. For me it’s an objective to end my career in the United States with the possibility of playing well and being a big part of the team and fighting for a title." Antoine Griezmann [Los Angeles Times]

"Virg is the best defender in the world, and I love him being on the left-hand side with me. We have a good partnership on and off the pitch, and we help each other out. On the pitch especially. The big guy is absolutely class in everything he does. He's a fantastic leader, a fantastic guy." Andrew Robertson on Virgil van Dijk [Sky Sports]

"If any generation is going to get us to a World Cup, it’s this one. We have a lot of really good players. We all want to reach a World Cup. For a Canada team to do that, it’s the dream." Liam Millar [Goal]

"Chilean players usually have long careers. They’re like wine; they get better with age and as the years go by they settle down." Reinaldo Rueda [FIFA.com]

"Everyone is asking about Kai Havertz. If you see him play, it tells you everything. For me, he has the elegance of Zidane." Marcel Daum [talkSPORT.com]

"I couldn't say everything that I've done but I enjoyed it. The three weeks were tough. On the first days no one knew each other so it was a bit weird, but soon we got to know each other. You have to spend every day together, there were ten people in one room so we got very close. We were working together, helping each other. In the first days the other guys couldn't even speak to me but by the end we were joking and enjoying together." Son Heungmin on his military service in Korea Republic [Tottenham's YouTube channel]