I've been accused of being a bit too keen on my football, not least by my three ex-wives.
From the start, all I did was play football. I briefly played badminton and won a tournament when I was 12, but really, it was always football.
When I arrived at Bayern he asked me: 'How are you? Are you ready to learn how to play football?' Before, I thought the coach's job was just to set up the team. However, with Guardiola it's something different. He is addicted to football and because of that he is a phenomenon.
I enjoy playing but the moment the game ends, football ends and you can talk to me about anything except football because I don't feel comfortable.
I watch a lot of football. It was always my hobby. My wife just sits there with a bored face, thinking, 'Is he really watching this?'
It's funny, you'll probably find me more often watching soccer than a football game, because I get enough football in my daily schedule.
The natural state of the football fan is bitter disappointment, no matter what the score.
Football is to Texas what religion is to a priest.
I always have a football handy at home, and I'll play with it. Sometimes it'll get on my wife's nerves. But the moment I've got a ball at my feet, I'm happy.
I think this is something special about Italy; waking up, taking the coffee in the morning and talking only about football.
The game's my life and I'm so passionate about it. When you see your life so intertwined with football it can make things very difficult. You might go and watch a film and start imagining footballers running across the screen, you know?
I knew I loved football before I even played it. Uh, but the first time I stepped out on the field playing for the Lakeshore Redskins, I knew that I loved this game. I knew that this was something I wanted to do. And I was only 6 years old, but I loved it.
The thing is, my dad's always been more of a bookworm; he was interested in more intellectual pursuits, but nobody can escape the passion that football stirs.
When people come up to me and are like, 'I really like your music,' it feels good to know that it's not all about football for me anymore.
I'm not one of those people who goes home and has to put football on the TV straight away or has to watch Sky Sports News.
I have so much love for football, that I think is the reason why I seek refuge in training - I'm always guided by that desire to conquer, to win.
Nothing jazzes me up like football. I've acquired more passion of the years, not less. Not to love it wouldn't make sense.
As a kid, you'd look at all these guys in the NFL and almost idolize them.
I grew up in Texas, obviously a huge football state.
It's football all day on Sunday. I wish we had football every day; that would make me way happier. Why can't we have that? You've got all these teams! Why can't we just play a Monday game, a Tuesday game, a Wednesday game?
These guys live and breathe football; they get something out of going to the training ground every day.
If football covers all your emotions, that's too shallow for me.
I think it's fantastic to be here in England. They live football: football is living, and living is football.
When I was three or four, only football was in my head. I went 10 years, and nothing changed - only football, football, football. The strange thing is, nobody played football in my family before.
Life doesn't stop with football.
