At six years old, our son had friends who played soccer from 4 P.M. to 7 P.M., Monday through Friday. A six-year-old practicing as much as a Division I athlete.
I started to play at four years old. I went to Corinthians at nine years old. Then, it started to become more serious.
Never been crazy enough about soccer to say, 'I'm a Madrid fan until death.'
When I was younger, soccer was my life. I always wanted to play.
It is a very, very difficult thing to get into the Brazil national team, so when you achieve that, it makes you really happy, and you want it to continue for as long as possible.
The French team has given me so much and I want to help it. I told myself I did not have much time left in soccer, and I want to profit from it to the maximum.
I always just had a dream to spend more time with my father. But at the end of the day, my mom was the one who kept me in soccer,who kept me doing my homework, who provided me with meals on a daily basis.
My relationship with the national squad is a separate thing; I've always been lucky in that, for Argentina, I've always performed well, independently of what's been going on at any club.
I gave up on the delusion that these players enjoy soccer as much as I do, that they play for the love of the game.
