Ernesto Valverde Quotes

We're all friends, me and the refs.

No one man is superior to the game.

In baseball, democracy shines its clearest. The only race that matters is the race to the bag. The creed is the rule book. And color, merely something to distinguish one team's uniform from another's.

On the field, everyone is equal.

One of the things about football is, it's a relationship business.

I think we have enough trouble finding community in this country, and sport does provide that. It is a mediocrisy, the greatest mediocrisy. If you're the best, it shows in sports. Nobody can say, 'Well, he's only there because of his connections,' or whatever. In that sense, I suppose it upholds democracy and the best in us.

The world of sports knows no religious, racial or political differences. Athletes, from whatever land they come, speak the same language. The lessons of competition are lessons for life.

Competition is for everyone.

You need to separate the fans and the players.

Basketball is like society - you're going to have good and bad.

Playing football can be damn harsh, but every day is a fight for equality.

When you're on the court with guys that know basketball, it's a universal language for us.

It's kind of interesting on a team sport because you have young players, you have older players, you have veterans. But ultimately, when you step in between those lines, you're just a player.

Football can help carve a more diverse world.

Like I always say, it's a five-on-five game.

I am not better than anyone else just because I play football.

You want to play in every game, and you especially don't want to be in the penalty box for five minutes and give the other team a chance to get a power play, and you don't want to hurt anyone on the other team.

Sports is the common denominator in the world that brings everyone together. If there's any one place in the world where there is equality, it is probably sports. That was something that didn't always exist. We've come a long way in sports. Why can't society use sports as a way to bring people together and create change?

I've played sports pretty much my whole life, and that teaches you how to work with anyone, whether you like that person or you don't, and whether you get along with them or you don't. The circumstances don't matter. Team work is part of life.

Sports teaches you character, it teaches you to play by the rules, it teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose-it teaches you about life.

People can be great competitors on Sunday and mates on Monday.

Then in a fraction of a second, I realized that these sportsmen were not anyone's enemies.

I don't think teams play this game to hurt other guys. I don't think that's the story. We don't play this game to hurt one another.

In football, like in life, you must learn to play within the rules of the game.

We're sympathetic, but once you step on the field, football's football.