Zinedine Zidane Quotations

We must not let ourselves get driven off course, no matter what happens we must stick to our natural game.

I have a need to play intensely every day, to fight every match hard.

Real Madrid is the most important thing that happened to me, both as a footballer and as a person.

The door can never be closed for good to any player.

It was my father who taught us that an immigrant must work twice as hard as anybody else, that he must never give up.

It doesn't matter how many times you win an award, it is always very special.

I think Marseille is probably a place like Liverpool, very vibrant and very tough.

Life is full of regrets, but it doesn't pay to look back.

I love Madrid. I am happy to be here. I have been here three years and hope to be here longer. But I am proud of where I come from and never forget the people I grew up with.

I may have had a lot of luck in my life, but I still need to find a challenge in the game.

The England team must always be respected. They always fight to the end.

I am proud of where I come from and never forget the people I grew up with. Wherever I go, La Castellane is where I want to go back to.

There are evil people, and I don't even want to hear those guys speak.

I'm very inspired by him-it was my father who taught us that an immigrant must work twice as hard as anybody else, that he must never give up.

My father is an Algerian, proud of who he is and I am proud that my father is Algerian.

Music was important. Football was the easy part.

I have won many awards and I am very happy about this, but I am not the best player in the world.

The only important thing I have to say is that my father never fought against his country.

I have decided to come back for Les Bleus.

When your own fans whistle and jeer, then you have a big problem.

I am supposed to set an example to young players.

I was lucky to come from a difficult area. It teaches you not just about football but also life. There were lots of kids from different races and poor families. People had to struggle to get through the day.

Obviously fashion is a completely different world from football.

We are well aware of the task ahead of us in what will be a very difficult match but which we all dream of playing.

It's the first time it's happened to me and maybe the last. It's a strange sensation, not normal for me. I can't remember scoring three goals, even when I was a kid.

My passion for the game comes from the city of Marseille itself. Unfortunately I can't go back there as much I want to because I play a lot here and abroad.

I don't know if we are the best team in the world. I am lucky to be playing alongside some of the best players around. It's a dream.

It will be a physical encounter but we must not respond in kind.

I am first of all from La Castellane and Marseille.

We were a family who had come from nothing and now we had respect from French people of all sorts.

I have never had the opportunity to play in England, so I know little about it.

My family are very proud of me, but I am very proud of them and where they come from. I am proud that they come from Kabylie. It is a special place.

We looked better in the second half (against England) when Thierry was moving out to the wing more,

If we are at 150 percent on D-Day, I don't see which country could trouble us apart from Brazil, obviously, because they are the only fearsome team as they have always been.

Marseille cannot have any regrets about this match,

I still have six months or maybe a year (left). At the best I have a year and a half. I'm closer to the end than the beginning.

It is now for us to put that into practice.

I think we have the team to go very far at the European championships. Now we just have to be ready on time.

I would not have come back otherwise. I did not only do it so we would qualify but because this team has the players who are capable of achieving something.

We have two matches ahead of us. You have to be honest, if you can't beat the Faeroe Islands then there is a problem.

We are back to being the old Real Madrid. If we keep playing like this then I'm sure we'll win something.

We had a long discussion. I have always said the French team is the most important thing that has happened to me. I thought deeply about it and I want to play for France again.

Yes, I will play the World Cup (if we qualify).

Until my last breath. I won't say. It's too intense.

think -- and I stress my words -- about the consequences of voting for a party that does not at all correspond to the values of France.

The sooner we find the net the better. We know that we must slot a fair number of goals to compensate for a possible away victory by the Swiss.

It was an exceptional game, like we had in 2000 with Portugal and Italy, ... In these two matches we managed to reverse the trend, and we did it again.

We'll have to be tough in Dublin. We'll need to have a strong physical presence because the Irish are going to come at us hard. But we're more than capable.

Before it was hard to talk about certain things, especially if, like me, you came from a difficult area or an immigrant background.

But the most important thing is to be ready for the two matches in September, which are essential. They needed a little something extra to help them win. Everyone played a good match.

That's not the case, but over here these type of little things are normal to fill the pages of newspapers. You shouldn't attach too much importance to it. I let others talk and concentrate on what I have to do.

After the World Cup, I will stop playing football.

I've got a year and three months left on my contract. We'll get through these three months, get ready for a nice World Cup and then we'll see.

I have six months or one year left, that's true. I am closer to the end than the start. I want to make the most of my last moments as a football player and experience them at 100%. I know that otherwise after I retire I will regret all those times.

I have no doubt ? our players play for some of the best clubs in Europe. I am convinced that our players are only just a little short of what is needed to carry us a long way. We have to do everything we can to achieve that because it will be the last chance for players like me.

I'm disappointed and happy at the same time that he's not here,

I want to finish my season and have a good World Cup and then we'll see. I had a groin problem that lasted a long time and also an ankle problem, but now I'm a lot better physically.

I want to give something to the children that soccer has given to me.

It's promising for the future. The important matches are coming.

It's in my head. I'm not sure if I will keep going until 2007. I have six more months with Real Madrid, the World Cup and then we will see.

It's in my head. It's not certain that I will carry on until 2007. I have another six months with Madrid, a World Cup and afterwards we will see.

It went well for Real tonight and we can be happy with how we've done in the tournament until now. We played our game and I think our victory was deserved.

Before the match in Montpellier there was more talk about my return than the game itself.

I don't think that Keane will display his nastier side,

It is true that we looked better when Thierry moved more to the left in the second half,

It's simple. If we want to have our destiny in our own hands, we need to win our four matches.

It was the last chance free kick, we were not expecting a match like that,

I came out of retirement not just to help qualification but also because this team has the players who can do something.

I once cried because I had no shoes to play soccer, but one day, I met a man who had no feet

If you are determined and confident, there is nothing in this great existence that can stop you from achieving what you want.

Ronaldinho is a special player, but Thierry Henry is probably technically the most gifted footballer ever to play the beautiful game.

You rarely come across the complete footballer, but Scholes is as close to it as you can get. One of my regrets is that the opportunity to play alongside him never presented itself during my career.

I reached this level by sheer dint of hard work, toiling away at scores of tricks and experiments. I used to play with the ball from dawn till dusk and just kept practising. If I wasn't playing matches, it was trying out one on one or two against two with a tennis ball. Then I used to try aiming at certain targets. That's the only way to learn. And if I missed the target, I kept trying until I scored

Everything I have achieved in football is due to playing football in the streets with my friends

I am proud of where I come from and I will never forget the people I grew up with.

You don't need a reason to help people.

My toughest opponent? Scholes of Manchester. He is the complete midfielder.

Nobody knows if Zidane is an angel or demon. He smiles like Saint Teresa and grimaces like a serial killer.

Zidane was from another planet. When Zidane stepped onto the pitch, the 10 other guys just got suddenly better. It is that simple.

You can't get bored of winning. You can win 10 games in a row but you keep the same will to snatch the 11th. You always need more.

It's hard to explain but I have a need to play intensely every day, to fight every match hard. And this desire never to stop fighting is something else I learnt in the place where I grew up.

Every day I think about where I come from and I am still proud to be who I am: first, a Kabyle from La Castellane, then an Algerian from Marseille, and then a Frenchman.

Messi is the Mozart of football.

Football boots are very technical and have lots of specific requirements.

Sometimes I don't know what takes me over during a game. Sometimes I just feel I have moved to a different place and I can make the pass, score the goal or go past my marker at will.

If Giggs was French, Pires or myself would have been on the bench.

Everything Iniesta does impresses me. He could even play as goalkeeper. He's magical.

Ronaldinho is total class - a very, very great player. He is quick, powerful, and has extraordinary technical qualities. He is a dribbler but is also a player who can make the play for his teammates. He's not really a No.10, a true organizer. He's more a second attacker who can score goals and has the vision to make them.

All of us at Juventus agreed Manchester United were the best side we met in the Champions League. They have so many talented young players and can only get better and better. Giggs is truly world class

If Zizou kept his temper, he would not be the genius that he is

Mandela has played a crucial part in history. He's done some extraordinary things, not only for his country but also for the whole world.

Scholes is undoubtedly the best midfielder of his generation.

My memories of events and games are fragmented.

Zidane is probably the best player there has been in the past 20 years ... France have recovered the best Zidane and they have progressively grown throughout this tournament.

Sometimes words are harder than blows.

Zidane is the master. Over the past 10 years, there's been no-one like him, he has been the best player in the world.

Messi makes the difference most of the time. In particular, he is always going forwards. He never passes the ball backwards or sideways. He has only one idea, to run towards the goal.So as a football fan, just enjoy the show.

It's true, pressure is something that goes with football nowadays. You need to accept it, and everything that it involves - the good and the bad.

It's only natural to want to select your best players and there is no doubt for me that Paul Scholes is still in a class of his own. He's almost untouchable in what he does. I never tire of watching him play.

To be recognised by a whole country is incredible. This is massive.