Steph Houghton Quotes

I was captain in Atletico at 19, playing in the same team as Demetrio Albertini, who won three Champions Leagues, and Sergi Barjuan from Barcelona, who had won everything, and they were 32, 33. I was a kid as captain, so I wasn't the real captain, just a kid learning from them.

I feel like I have reached the stage where I can no longer produce for my club, my manager, and my teammates.

When I tested for Billy Budd, I had that kind of confidence that comes with the certainty that you're not going to get something. I was very rough around the edges.

At Tottenham Hotspur, we can share the pressure, but on the South Korea team, some of the players have more pressure than others.

I mean I've been around a lot of places and there's been a lot of guys that - every single team that I've ever been on, I really try to take advantage of the older veterans that are there, try to learn about their process, how they take care of their bodies, how they study, how they watch film.

I think as an older player, there's a kind of natural responsibility or natural role to go around the lads and say a few things. I had it when I came into the team; when you look to the older boys in certain situations to see what they say, see how they act, and see what they expect.

If you're not starting well and not taking the lead, then you're constantly putting pressure on yourself as a team.

It's funny, because earlier, I used to have questions about how you coped with the seniors in the team, and now I get questions about how you're guiding these juniors.

I don't know if I'm going to be any good at sevens.

When I met Mourinho, I was still very young, but mentally and tactically, he worked on me. He was really demanding: you could not take a step below your level.

It is important to challenge your major players. You need to keep them on their toes but there are ways of doing that. Sometimes you have to be a shoulder to cry on. You can't be constantly at them.

I'm a great believer that you cannot have enough senior pros around your dressing room.

I think me making the Select Team was huge. It was the chance for me to be around those guys and see their work ethic and how they prepare. I think that's what I took the most away from it.

I think when you've played in a league for as long as I have, it would be foolish for a coach not to ask a player with that kind of knowledge about other players. A lot of this goes beyond the court. Are they a good teammate? Are they good in the locker room? What's their attitude like? Do they work hard?

Any competitor would be frustrated in that moment... but it certainly made sense what Coach Kubiak did for the playoff run. I got replaced by Peyton Manning... I think we all know who is going to play in the game.

When you're a young lad in a team like Arsenal, you feel like, of course, you deserve to be at the club... but you're on the periphery, and there are world-class players and more experienced players around you.

When you're on set, you're like, 'Everyone's judging me because I'm the director, and everyone thinks I'm doing this because I just love myself and I want to do everything.' Part of it's true: I do want to do everything, and I do kind of love myself.

Many women try to advance in their careers by having all the answers; by being the go-to person for information and advice; or by building expertise in a particular field. However, as they progress, gain broader responsibilities, and grow into leadership roles, they realize that their span of control is too vast to be able to know every answer.

Am I going to be good enough, because I don't have head-coaching experience outside of high school football? I've been around a lot of great head coaches in my career, but you begin to doubt. And, for me, it was the doubt of, 'Are the players going to believe me?'

I've had to change my game a lot - try to play the right way, try to do the right things, try to be the glue guy for the team for the most part.

The Red Bulls have done a good job of challenging me to be a leader, not just be a part of team and score goals, but be someone to be counted on.

I expect a lot. And, I hold my teammates accountable and they've got to hold me accountable.

Being in the clubhouse, talking to the veterans, talking to guys who have been here, getting to know everybody, getting the personalities, you can actually learn a lot from the other players in the league.

I think the growth you get from working at a place like Alabama and with a program under Nick Saban, it helps me immensely.

Coaches have plans and structures, and if you're not in those plans you shouldn't take it personally.