Zico Quotes

India should go at their own pace and not compete with anyone. They have a league system in place and a huge fan base, but the thing they need the most is a good structure. They need to create a good footprint for football in the future because they have the numbers, but they need to improve the quality of the game.

I think what African football needs is better organization, better structure, and I think, after that, we'll help the players to be more professional when they're coming to play for their national team.

I wish I could help in a more substantial way, the football in India in a more global, national way.

There has been a great list of players who cut their teeth in Europe.

It's disappointing to see how football, the world's No. 1 sport, is not No. 1 when it comes to development. It seems to me that a wealth of practical football knowledge is being squandered.

I'm sorry for Italian football; there's no desire to improve Italian football.

Germany, when you're a young player, is the best. There are lots of young talents here, and people have faith in them.

If I had the opportunity, I will ask every Nigerian kid to start his career in Germany. The structure they have in the Bundesliga is far from what is obtainable in other leagues.

A lot of the guys who played in the 1995 final for Ajax had been there since the age of 12 or 13. Patrick Kluivert and Edgar Davids had been there from age seven or eight, so I had a lot of catching up to do.

I learned so much during my time at United. Sharing a dressing room with Paul Scholes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Ryan Giggs at such a young age was an amazing experience. I didn't play as much as I would have liked, but it was a master's degree in development both as a player and a person.

You look at a club like Chelsea, and you know it won't be easy to get into that team. Sometimes you have to go away, play regular first team football, and show Chelsea that you are ready to play for them.

We can work together to produce better footballers for both FK Sarajevo and maybe Cardiff City and maybe even to play for other clubs. We hope this will be well received by everybody and enhance good relations between Malaysia and Bosnia.

If I can join hands with FIFA and other continental bodies to promote football globally, then I can do more than that to raise African football to new heights.

Only 38 per cent of players in the Premier League are English; that is a damning statistic. Soon, the England manager will have to go scouting for players in the Championship - and when I say 'soon' I mean the next four or five years, perhaps even for the next World Cup.

I run an academy in Spain for young footballers who are released by their clubs and who, in my opinion, deserve a second chance. It is a rewarding job for me, but one that also reveals many of the faults in the English game.

I think the best place to work in football is England.

David Beckham is a patriot, and I am sure he will help in any way he can. Beckham needs to be part of any future plans to remould the England set-up. Beckham and players like him need to be integrated into the set-up in the same way that the Germans take on board former players from Beckenbauer to Rummenigge.

These kids are the future of the National Football League. They're the next generation that will be playing high school football, NCAA football, and some even to the pros.

I want to help grow the game in India and encourage young kids to play football.

With such a huge fan base, Indian football has a good foundation, and my aim is to become an ambassador of the sport and fly the flag on the international stage for the Indian fans.

Tottenham is the club that first gave me my opportunity to play in one of the strongest leagues in the world.

I got a job as a football development manager which meant I could coach the students and work with the sports sciences department, all the people in university sector.

I've not got a bad word to say about City. If they want you and sign you, then they have got intent for you.

I am a footballing worker - I am not a star.

As Europe is more advanced in football administration, I would like to learn more there.