ANDREA PIRLO

Since I was a child, I watched tapes of Baggio, Zico, and Maradona, and then I tried to replicate them just playing on my own against the wall. Certainly it's talent, but you have to cultivate that talent.

I used to watch Juninho's free-kicks without being able to figure out how he hit them. I tried and tried until, eventually, I came up with my own way to strike them.

There are many talented midfielders but not the kind of playmaker I am.

It would actually be a dream way to end my time in Turin, by winning the Champions League.

Being a philosopher is to think, seek wisdom, and have principles that guide and influence what you do. It's to give meaning to things, find your way in the world, believe that in the end, in every instance, good will overcome evil, even if there's a bit of suffering along the way.

When there is a solid base of Italian players, those who come in take their example, and then everyone is working in the same direction.

In order to go all the way, you need everyone's contribution.

As a player, you get to the stage where you realise that you are not 25 anymore - and can't play the way you used to. The intelligent players adapt - and Steven Gerrard has the ability to do that. He is an excellent passer of the ball, possesses an intelligent football brain, and has great vision.

It's the best thing that can happen to a player. Being able to play at the World Cup is already the best, but then to raise the trophy to the sky is a dream.

In football, like in life, there are always millimetres which can change things - the course of a goal or of a life.

I've learned lots, obviously - the first thing being never to forget to be grateful. The second is not to bear grudges, because in football, luck does not exist.

Better to leave before someone else has the idea of sending you away.

I want to help the MLS grow and play well.

I do not have a Facebook page, and I do not chat on Twitter. I don't have a web site, even if there are people who have opened one in my name, complete with my photo.

I stick to a Mediterranean diet with fresh produce and olive oil. On a normal day, my diet is divided into the three main meals. I don't eat any other snack between meals during the day.

When I take my free-kicks, I think in Portuguese, and at most, I'll do the celebrating in my native tongue.

Thanks to Conte, I got the urge of coaching, and I thank him for that.

When great teams meet, there is never a problem with concentration.

I'd have signed for Real in a heartbeat. They're a club with more glamour than Milan; more prospects, more appeal, more everything. They strike fear in their opponents, whoever they happen to be.

Yes, many times an assist is more difficult than a goal; you need to find the right space and measure the force used in order to provide your teammate with the right position in order to score.

There are so many different factors - luck, being in good shape when it matters, the draw. For these reasons, it's hard to win a European Cup.

All my ex-teammates didn't want to become coaches, yet they've all done it.

I love the food scene in New York.

On the first training session Pogba had with Juventus, the players were laughing. We were not laughing for any other reason than we were just in total disbelief that this player with so much obvious ability was able to leave the club the size of Manchester United for free - and I think Juventus are still laughing.

Madrid is Madrid. There's nothing more to say. It's the biggest team in the world.