Citazioni

I am constantly being asked about individuals. The only way to win is as a team. Football is not about one or two or three star players.

[on players who bring football into disrepute] They don't love the game, they don't love the team.

For many people, their memory of Gordon Banks is defined by the save he made against me in 1970. I understand why. The save was one of the best I have ever seen - in real life and in all the thousands of games I have watched since. When you are a footballer, you know straight away how well you have hit the ball. I hit that header exactly as I had hoped. Exactly where I wanted it to go. And I was ready to celebrate. But then this man, Banks, appeared in my sight, like a kind of blue phantom, is how I described him. He came from nowhere and he did something I didn't feel was possible. He pushed my header, somehow, up and over. And I couldn't believe what I saw. Even now when I watch it, I can't believe it. I can't believe how he moved so far, so fast. I scored so many goals in my life, but many people, when they meet me, always ask me about that save. While it was indeed phenomenal, my memory of Gordon is not defined by that - it is defined by his friendship. He was a kind and warm man who gave so much to people. So I am glad he saved my header - because that act was the start of a friendship between us that I will always treasure.

People talk about the best being Pele or Diego Maradona [Diego Maradona], but for me the best was Alfredo Di Stéfano. Maradona was a great player, but he could not kick with his right foot and did not score goals with his head. The only time he scored an important goal with his head, it turned out he had used his hand.