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Not enough words can describe the FIFA World Cup which, by far is the biggest sporting competition in the world which succeeds in uniting people from all walks of life every four years. Although describing the magnitude of the World Cup is a herculean task a few great players have managed to capture the hysteria of the tournament beautifully with their wonderful quotes. Listed below are some famous quotes about the World Cup.
#1 Pele
“The World Cup is a very important way to measure the good players, and the great ones. It is a test of a great player.” – Amazing words coming from the best footballer the game has ever seen. The iconic Brazilian, Pele managed to perform with great success in all four of the World Cups he played in. Good players catch people’s attention but great ones totally captivate them, and Pele was truly a great player. Edson Arantes do Nascimento(famoulsy known to all as Pele) bowled over everyone including the Americans who flocked to the New York Cosmos stadium to watch him play in his years at the States.
#2 Michael Owen
“There's nothing quite like a World Cup.” – Iconic English striker Michael Owen, who scored one of the best World Cup goals ever against Argentina as a teenager, uttered this lovely quote. It has no fancy words in it but manages to sum up the magnitude of the tournament beautifully. The World Cup unites people of every cast, creed and colour and gets them hooked for a month – no other tournament other than the Olympics is this massive.
#3 Gary Lineker
"Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win." – Prolific English striker Gary Lineker uttered this immortal quote after England were knocked out of the 1990 World Cup by arch rivals Germany on.......wait for it..........penalties!! It was witty quotes such as this, that helped Lineker, who won the Golden Boot in the 1986 World Cup, forge a successful career as a football pundit.
#4 Ronaldo
"We lost because we didn't win." – No actual words can describe this memorable quote uttered by Ronaldo after he was asked how Brazil lost to France in the finals of the 1998 World Cup.
#5 Sir Bobby Robson
"We didn't underestimate them. They were a lot better than we thought.” – The legendary English manager was known for his witty quotes and this particular one was the best of them all. England went into the quarter finals of the 1990 World Cup against Cameroon as firm favourites but had to fight tooth and nail for a 3-2 victory after which Sir Bobby uttered this beautiful line.
#6 Diego Maradona
"A little bit of Maradona's head, a little bit of the hand of God." – The legendary Argentine uttered this immortal quote at the post match press conference after Argentina beat England 2-1 in the quarter-final of the 1986 FIFA World Cup courtesy of two Maradona goals.The first one was extremely controversial due to it being a handball. Almost everybody was amused by this quote except the English and their manager Bobby Robson who called it ‘the hand of a rascal’.
#7 Gordon Banks
"They won't remember me for winning the World Cup, it'll be for that save. That's how big a thing it is. People just want to talk about that save." – Legendary English goalkeeper Gordon Banks, who won the World Cup with the Three Lions in 1966, fondly remembers ‘that’ moment when he kept out Pele, the best player in the world in the 1970 World Cup. The Brazilian sent a thumping header towards the far right corner of the goal which looked certain to go in but Banks displayed some amazing reflexes and got fingertips to the ball, managing to keep it out. Banks, who was voted the Best Goalkeeper of the 20th Century behind Lev Yashin, achieved many things in his illustrious career but is best remembered for the save.
#8 Alcides Ghiggia
"Only three people have ever silenced 200,000 people at the Maracanã with a single gesture: Frank Sinatra, Pope John Paul II and me." – The Uruguayan uttered this unforgettable quote 50 years after he broke millions of Brazilians hearts by scoring the winning goal against their team in the finals of the 1950 World Cup.
#9 Ronaldinho
“Brazil go into every World Cup expecting to win - so when it is in Brazil, it is expected even more. You can't understand what the World Cup means to our country. Not just the fans and players, but everybody in Brazil lets us know that they expect it. Our president, people in politics, all tell us to come back with the World Cup.” – The former Barcelona man, who will go down in history as one of the best Brazilian attackers ever, summarizes the mindset and current mood of the Brazilian people very well in this quote. The Brazilians are in love with the tournament due to them being so good at the game and their team is expected to do well every time the competition begins. Now that the World Cup is on home soil the pressure, as Ronaldinho says, is even more intense.
