Freestyle Football Quotes

When I was a kid, I watched Hugo Sanchez videos. The backflip I sometimes do when I score is actually an homage to him.

I can't do tricks, but I absolutely loved trying, and one of my fondest memories growing up was trying to imitate Ronaldinho and do his dance.

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.

My football comes from the streets.

Sometimes a little kid will come up to me and ask me to show him some tricks. I always have to say: 'I can't do any tricks.' They want to see some sort of magic: keepie-uppies, around-the-worlds, that sort of thing. It's not really my strength.

I was a street footballer.

Every day, I was on the street dribbling, doing skills. I wasn't in an academy till I was 19.

Street football features all the basics of football: you get a lot of touches on the ball, it is fast, teaches you to think quickly and to be creative.

Even when I was young, I had a reputation for it. I would play with my friends outside, and I was doing all the things you see now a long time ago. I've always done the flip-flap, even when I was young. Stepovers, dummies - I love to dribble. If you speak with my friends, they will say I'm the same Riyad.