Fabio Cannavaro Quotes

"Zidane was the most unpleasant among my colleagues. I have never liked him on the pitch and we have always clashed. Albeit a champion for his class, I have never managed to see his fair play."

"As a defender, you can be many shapes and sizes. You can be short and fast. Or you can be tall and jump high. It doesn't matter. The only necessity is that you are confident when you take the pitch - because every week there is a new challenge."

"I have no regrets. I won with the most prestigious clubs in the world - Real Madrid and Juventus - and also with the national team. I won the Ballon d'Or and Fifa World Player at 33 years old."

"I don't drink or smoke."

"Frank de Boer definitely showed in the Netherlands that he's a good coach."

"Messi is top but Maradona is another world."

"Real Madrid? I don't have any nostalgia or bitterness."

"You always have to dream big and think big."

"You know I was a ball boy at the Italy v. Argentina semi-final in Naples in 1990 and playing in a World Cup final is something every child dreams about."

"The most imortant thing is to win."

"I've always been strong physically and I think for a player what happens off the field is even more important."

"Sure, it is true that none of us is Superman. But when we stand together, we can achieve anything."

"When the national team plays, everyone feels a part of it. Everyone comes together. And when Italians come together, we tend to do well."

"Of course, we all know Italy is an amazing country. We have stunning coastlines and a scenic countryside. We have a climate that allows us to spend a lot of time outdoors. We have fashion, we have food. But life in Italy is so good that sometimes we tend to rest on our laurels."

"I didn't start out wanting to be a defender. Who would want to be in the back-line after having watched striker Paolo Rossi score six goals in the 1982 World Cup?"

"When I first arrived at Napoli, I was the ball boy, which meant that I got to watch as the legends trained. Then, once I joined the youth team as a young teenager, I was a midfielder just like Tardelli."

"I played Zidane throughout my career, and for many players you reach a point where you learn lessons on how to handle them. But from the first match I played against him to the last, Zidane would find different ways to beat me."

"If the opportunity came to manage Al Ahli then why not? I would also like to one day coach one of the globe's great teams such as Italy, Real Madrid or Juventus."

"When you win the World Cup, you start to become a legend - for the people around the world, you are different."

"I'm very proud because, all my life, I worked very hard to be a football player."

"My parents every day said, 'Ah, it's better you go to school, it's very important for your future.' But inside myself, I said: 'I think the good way is follow the football.'"

"Maradona, I think, is not a football player but he's something different. He was unbelievable."

"I watch every game in the Premier League and I like the ambience and culture of football in England."

"I like the Klopp mentality but at the same time, I like the Pep culture about football because always we need intensity with and without the ball."

"If you have Messi or Ronaldo you start the game 1-0 up."

"I consider Zidane to be an amazing player who has written football history."

"Juve have allowed me to show my worth, it has provided me with a challenge that has motivated me."

"I respect Messi a lot."

"I never saw Pele, but I watched Maradona, for seven years I saw every game. He's not one of the best, he's the best."

"A compact defense has always been the basis of Italy's team."