Nemanja Matic Quotes

Some young players think that they want to be like Manuel Neuer.

Growing up, John Terry was my obvious idol. I based my whole game on him.

In my career, Diego Maradona had the biggest influence on me.

Zidane is a Real Madrid legend. He teaches us things in every training session - even just by playing with us.

As a kid, I looked up to Gazza, and to Wayne Rooney because he came through at Everton. Zidane has been one of my favourite players and I was always watching videos of him.

Obviously, Thierry Henry is someone I have looked up to ever since I started playing football.

Beckham was a great inspiration to me growing up.

People compare me to Batistuta, and he is the player I base myself on.

I believe I can be a great player for Manchester United.

Playing with Wayne Rooney was a dream come true. He's a legend and a role model to me.

For me, growing up, my main role model was Rio Ferdinand when he was playing with England. He was a centre half. I liked his style of play, and he played with a lot of passion.

Rooney's a legend. He's one of my favourite attackers of all time. He's a guy I really do look up to.

I wanted to be Ronaldinho. I studied him a lot. He was my hero.

Growing up, you watch players like Ronaldinho playing in World Cups, doing the business, and you idolise these people.

Lionel Messi is a role model for everyone, including me.

A great guy who is no longer in the league right now who is retired, Kyle Vanden Bosch, I learned a lot from him, and I owe him a lot for my success in the NFL.

I remember how inspiring it was to meet players like Bobby Charlton or Bryan Robson when I was a kid. I still remember Clive Allen showing up when I received a trophy for my Sunday league team.

My heroes were always soccer players.

I wanted my children to be able to see me play at the World Cup.

I am going to continue and bring this club forward. I am Paul Gascoigne the footballer.

Growing up, I supported Manchester United, and my hero was Mark Hughes.

I used to imagine what it would be like to do what Jim Brown was doing. I used to imagine what it would be like to be like a Tony Dorsett. I used to imagine what it would be like to be like a Walter Payton. I was imagining Emmitt Smith doing exactly what they were doing.

Schweinsteiger has got class, he's won the World Cup, he's won everything in the game and he's got experience and that's massive, especially at Manchester United.

I look at Sachin and I see a great player, the kind of person that you would like to follow, but I have my reputation and am happy with the way my career has gone.

I want to be great - in everything I do. As far as football, I always looked up to Kellen Moore of Boise State. I thought it was the coolest thing that he was the winningest QB of all time.