Zico Quotes

Football is a game of moments now and if someone does four step-overs, they've had an incredible game. That's not something I do.

Whenever we are en route to a game on the bus I am always watching the goals of Ronaldo, Adriano, and Neymar to get some inspiration. Then, when I am on the pitch, I try to replicate what they do.

Lionel Messi is a wonderful player. Very skillful. Highly intelligent. He is not good in the air.

It gives me a lot of confidence to play with my feet, and I have to be focused for 90 minutes.

I am a defender, but I can play the ball. I have a good technique.

I'm a versatile player, I'm a technical player, and I play with my head, but I can progress further.

Growing up I've been playing as an attacking midfielder, more central in the midfield. I wouldn't say if I'm most comfortable there but that's where I grew up playing.

Obviously, football and soccer seem to clash a lot, but soccer was great for me. It's a game that you play with triangles. You make a pass thinking that the person you pass the ball to is going to make the next pass.

In soccer, you have to be sly.

Some lads were dribblers, some lads just loved scoring goals, whereas I enjoyed and took pride in practicing my passing and that. That's how it was.

Ronaldinho was a big influence on me, watching him on YouTube, he used to do things that other people didn't really used to do.

If you're playing for five hours you don't want to score goals all the time and I loved dribbling. I could score a goal, but I preferred to dribble.

In football, the only game I know is the 90-minutes game. It's not mind games; I don't try to do that.

Football is not about suffering. It's about enjoyment. Control the ball, be friendly with it, try to attack, try to score goals. Of course defending is part of it, but you can defend in a lot of ways.

I see children now, and many things surprise me: they ask me about my boots and why I don't dye my hair. I wonder, 'Why don't you talk to me about how to cross the ball, control it, the position of the body when I strike the ball?'

I can win the ball. I can clear the ball.

I do like to play and pass the ball. But first and foremost I see myself as a defender: blocking, tackling, heading.

I love watching Messi with the ball at his feet. He scores goals and everything else.

I first learnt to play football as a striker and it was only when I joined City that I learnt how to become a midfielder thanks to the help I received from the staff at the Academy.

The sport of soccer in general is very combative. People don't realize it's very one-on-one a lot of times.

Playing lovely football and making wonderful saves is not a challenge.

My favourite position is as midfielder, playing with Xabi and Khedira.

In Germany, my focus was mainly on dribbling.

If we concede three, and I am marvellous on the ball, it is no good.

Since I was in the youth team I would love to dribble past opponents with a dummy. That tendency got even stronger under Giampiero Ventura at Bari, as we never threw the ball away.