The Week in Quotes
"There was a lack of women role models when I was growing up – that’s something that has changed a lot today. That’s very important. I can see the impact all the success that I’ve had with Lyon has not only had on young girls but also young boys in Norway. I feel that’s a big game-changer." Ada Hegerberg in an exclusive interview with The Guardian
"When you score in the last minute and you win, when that goal goes in, that euphoria, and that camaraderie that you have with your coaches and your staff and the players, when you dig something out of a lost cause and you end up equalising… you’ll never emulate those things in your life." Mick McCarthy reflects on his managerial career so far with The Athletic
"We’re working hard to create the best possible experience. The coronavirus does not change that, it just provides some other preconditions." Midtjylland Marketing Director Preben Rokkjaer tells the BBC about the club's plans to offer their fans parking tickets for a drive-in viewing experience in their cars when the Superliga returns
"This might surprise you, but I'm not a natural goalscorer. I was never a Gary Lineker or a Ruud van Nistelrooy." Wayne Rooney writes in his Sunday Times column
"Till today, any time alone, it still haunts me. Sometimes I feel like the world should go back again so I can redeem myself, but I know this is something that will haunt me for the rest of my life. I accept that because there is nothing I can do about it. I went there to save my country, but I ended up being the villain, which I accept because I know how people feel. It was a disaster. It was crazy. I was also calm because I couldn't sleep the whole night because I was crying the whole night until morning, so I was somehow calm because I couldn't cry anymore. All I was telling myself was to get another chance because I knew I could redeem myself even if not football, something else. But even if I don't, my kids will do it one day." Asamoah Gyan tells TV3 Ghana about the experience of missing his penalty kick against Uruguay in the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ quarter-finals
“I never really knew where Bangladesh was in the world. I looked it up, looked at the type of place that it was and, in a short space of time, it was: get up, leave family, move over to Bangladesh." Bangladesh head coach Jamie Day speaks with The Athletic about his journey with the Bengal Tigers
"And as I'm walking up to him -- I'm with two of my other friends -- I'm like 'Oh, it's Messi, it's great.' I'm like, almost shaking. And I asked him if I could take a picture and he goes: 'Yeah,' and I have my phone in my hand, and I'm looking down at my hand is trembling. It was crazy. I've never felt like that in my life." USA youth national team player and Barcelona U-19 winger Konrad de la Fuente tells ESPN about his first time meeting Lionel Messi
"He had something about him, a power I'd never sensed as a team-mate, an aura I had never seen before. Facing that, you just s--- yourself. He was so intimidating that it rattles you." William Gallas on facing former Chelsea team-mate Didier Drogba in an interview with The Athletic
"Neither Messi nor Ronaldo hit the ball so perfectly with both feet when they were Ianis's age. That's his big advantage. His technical skill with both feet is incredible." Marian Aliuta on Romania's Ianis Hagi, speaking to Gazeta
"My first footballing idol was definitely Luis Figo. He’s someone I looked up to when I was younger. The first shirt I owned was a Luis Figo jersey and I remember wearing it when playing football with my dad in the basement at home back in Hershey. In fact, my nickname then was actually Figo! My dad started it and sometimes he even still calls me it now." Christian Pulisic speaks about his footballing idol with Chelsea's official website
"My grandchildren are going to know exactly who Arsene Wenger was. I say that because he really helped me on a personal level. We worked a lot on tactics and my technique, which really improved, especially my passing. But he also made a difference away from the pitch. Normally, a coach doesn’t care how a player is. It’s, ‘Sod it, I want him to do his job.’ End of conversation. But he showed a great deal of concern and kindness to me. So for me, he’s not just an excellent coach. He’s the best I ever worked with, not because he is a big name or because he spent so many years at Arsenal, but because of the way he treated me." Denilson on Arsene Wenger in The Athletic
“It was beautiful big boxes of fruit and veg, really colourful. I was enjoying it, going back to the shop to get another lot and then filling the car up. Two of my pals who I go out for drinks with now and again were giving me dog’s abuse and WhatsApping me saying: ‘Have you delivered your fruit and veg yet?’ I ended up having to deliver two big boxes to my pals.” West Ham United manager David Moyes tells The Guardian about volunteering delivering fruits and vegetables to people in his hometown during the COVID-19 pandemic
“We are separated by physical distance, but I am convinced that we have never been so close. Empathy is what unites us now. The collective spirit, responsibility, humanity." Ronaldo pens a letter to Real Valladolid supporters