Steve Clarke Quotes

The best thing about having a footballer dad is seeing the game up close. You watch him train, then go home and practice what you've seen in the front room, rearranging the furniture.

Sometimes I played as a goalkeeper with my brother and his friends - they were all older, and nobody wanted to go in goal, so it had to be me!

My father got me involved in the game when I was four years old.

My dad was my coach in baseball and early on in basketball, so playing baseball was something we always did.

My generation put in a lot more hours playing football after school than kids today. These days, all the football these kids play, they play at their clubs, so the clubs need to work seriously on the basic skills.

I wasn't a goalkeeper until I was 13 or 14 so before that, my heroes were the likes of Paul Scholes and David Beckham, but since becoming a goalkeeper, I've obviously trained with Joe Hart.

I used to go with my father to practice on the village pitch and with my friends.

I grew up playing defense all the time with my older brothers and the older players.

At seven, I played centre-back. When you're so young, though, it's more to enjoy the training and to get a feel for the game. It's not heavy on tactics of a position. We were playing on a half pitch, seven against seven or eight against eight, so they say you're a centre-back, but it's not like the real definition.

My dad produces good footballers.

To be honest my first memories are getting to know players. I remember being on the bus probably like 3, 4, 5 years old, and my dad would always say go sit with the players in the back.

I'm very competitive. I remember being 4 years old trying to out-chug my dad in a milk-chugging contest. It's been in my blood.

I am a great football player. I had my own club when I was 14 years old. Football is in my blood, and I have been a fan of Fulham for the last 30 years.

As a kid, you obviously dream of being a professional footballer. I would watch players like Ronaldo of Brazil and pretend to be him in the playground. But I don't think about trying to become one of the best in the world or anything like that. I just play football.

My dad was my Little League coach and my Cub Master.

I went to football training when I was five because I think my father thought he had two boys.

The way children are taught football doesn't encourage skill; the focus is on other areas.

Chinese players are not as naturally skilled like South American or European players, like players who learned football when they were kids. They're not good.

My mum made me do kick-ups in the living room. My sister even tried to play football. Everyone was trying to help me.

Besides my father, who used to be a footballer at the local level, it is Messi for whom I started to play football.

I got to play with my older brother in high school and college, and I played with my younger brother in high school and college, so I kind of get to do everything, so it was really pretty sweet.

When I was young, the best moment came when I was 10 and I got invited to the academy. I remember getting all this Ajax training gear and suddenly I was able to call myself an Ajax player.

There's a full Football League programme every Tuesday, so I see those games and get to check out people like Paul Jones and Robbie Savage by playing against them.

I think the first team I ever played for was a YMCA team, probably around when I was seven years old. And really I have vague memories of it. I think, at that age, you're just trying to make sure the ball stays in bounds.

I grew up playing against friends and cousins in the park and it was some of the most competitive cricket I have played.