Gabriel Batistuta Quotes

"For me, practice and discipline are the magic words to become big in any sport, especially soccer."

"I do not like football. It is just my profession."

"I could have become an E.U. player if I'd wanted to, but I am, and prefer to remain, Argentine."

"It goes without saying that I love the game, the tactics, the training, and everything that happens on the pitch."

"I received many offers - namely from Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Milan - but I preferred the tranquillity of playing for Fiorentina."

"I felt terrible when I went to Roma because I hadn't fulfilled the expectations of the Florentines."

"It's fun to have wingers that cross the ball for you, but when two intelligent No. 9s play together, they understand each other better than with the wingers."

"I lived and breathed football. Now I have difficulty walking because of that: because I gave much more than I actually had to give."

"I know where I come from and what my roots are."

"I want to broaden my horizons, speak a new language, meet new people, and experience a different culture."

"I wasn't that excited about football when I was young, but it did become my passion."

"I never said I was going to play for Boca but rather that, if I went back to Argentina to play, I would do so for only one team, and that's Boca."

"I've always considered Florence as my girlfriend. I don't have to explain my love for this city."

"If I had gone to Madrid, I would have scored more than 200 goals, but I knew I would have got bored."

"I came to Roma because the president here and the coach have a great will to win, and that's what I have, too."

"You go around the world, and you say, 'I'm the top scorer for the Argentina national team.' I liked that."

"I'm playing for the team. If I've got four goals, it's because the team are playing well."

"I know perfectly well that in football, you have good times, and you have bad times."

"All the best players wanted to come to Italy."

"My family grew up in Florence. There I became what I am now, and those are things that cannot be forgotten."

"I love the game and everything that goes with actually playing. What I don't like so much are the interviews, the controversy, and all the external stuff."

"Messi is a player who can play in any team."

"Personally, I can't take the blame for what politicians did in 1982. I can't take on some kind of revenge or change history. I want to beat England because I want to win every game I play, but not because we went to war in 1982 or because we played against each other in 1998."

"England's is a very solid squad, but I can't name a particular player; a team is all the players, and they're good."

"My relationship with the national squad is a separate thing; I've always been lucky in that, for Argentina, I've always performed well, independently of what's been going on at any club."

"The Islamic culture is a question mark for many people across the world, but Qatar opens its doors to supporters all over the world so they can learn from this old culture."

"I've always liked England."

"English football is different: always on the attack. Although one thing is clear. The best football is the Italian."

"My thoughts on Balotelli? He's the kind of player who infuriates me. I was not born a footballer like him. I achieved what I did because of all the hard work I put in. I had to make sacrifices."

"Balotelli, and a few others, have everything that I would have liked to have. It angers me that he does not use his talent to his full advantage."