"Being a philosopher is to think, seek wisdom and have principles that guide and influence what you do. It's to give meaning to things, find your way in the world, believe that in the end, in every instance, good will overcome evil even if there's a bit of suffering along the way."

"If God exists, there's no way he's French."

"Passing judgement on others is always a lot of fun. Looking inwards is that little bit more difficult."

"His words assault you. They crash through the doors of your mind, often quite violently, and settle deep within you."

"He must have been the first nuclear-powered South Korean in history"

"Carlo was like a father and a teacher for me, a kind, friendly man who knew how to make things fun...A big guy with a big personality."

"He says he's slept with 700 women in his time, but he doesn't get picked for Italy any more. Deep down, can he really be happy?"

"There are always lessons to be found in the darkest moments. It's a moral obligation to dig deep and find that little glimmer of hope or pearl of wisdom. You might hit upon an elegant phrase that stays with you and makes the journey that little less bitter. I've tried with Istanbul and haven't managed to get beyond these words: for fuck's sake."

"I thought about quitting after Istanbul because nothing made sense any more...I no longer felt like a man. All of a sudden, football had become the least important thing, precisely because it was the most important: a very painful contradiction. I didn't dare look in the mirror in case my reflection spat back at me. The only possible solution I could think of was to retire."

"Ibid [p. 88]"

"He's either playing or he's back at camp. He doesn't do crazy joy, isn't interested in letting his concentration slide. He just can't bear the thought of having left a stone unturned in the quest to win a game. He's also superstitious to a pretty disgusting degree."

"A Rolex with Swatch batteries. Utterly refined, extremely long lasting."

"Swearing's my release, and the one weapon I have to defend myself against destiny when it elects to strike without pity."

"Being part of a team that belongs to everyone makes me feel good and at peace with myself. A lot of the time, it's better than sex: it lasts longer and if it all falls flat, it can't just be your fault."

"A ticking timebomb of a madman"

"That jackass of a dancer who took the mickey out of us by swaying about on his line"

"Simply put, he crapped. Crapped a hell of a lot. This isn't a bad thing in itself, but the fact he'd do it at the ground, in our dressing room, just before the game, got on our nerves somewhat."

"He was like an orchestra conductor who'd been assembled upside down, with the baton held by his feet instead of his hands...somebody at Ikea was having a good laugh the day they put him together."

"He's a special kind of medicine, an antidote to the potentially lethal poison of racists you find in Italian grounds."

"I strike dead balls alla Pirlo. Each shot bears my name and they're all my children."

"When you're in love, it's time you need. When the feeling's gone, having an excuse can help."

"Big name collector cards sell season tickets, but it's the glue they have behind them that wins games. The defence is the most important part of the team: in military terms, success starts in the zone behind the lines."

"Being first on the spot, kicking off that torture in the biggest, most incredible game that a player can play or imagine...that's not necessarily good news. It means that they think you're the best, but it also means that if you miss, you're first on the list of dickheads."

"After the wheel, the PlayStation is the best invention of all time."

"The perfect moment to let your hair down is usually after a triumph, because defeats deserve a different kind of reaction...When you lose, it's all about thinking and reflecting. When you win, burping takes priority."

"The best ideas come about in moments of total concentration, a state you can reach when shitting."

"Sometimes a pinch of sadism is the ingredient that makes victory taste that little bit sweeter."

"If I look in the mirror when I get up, or before going to bed a night, i see a man of average ugliness...But I also see a man who's completely happy with the figure staring back at him. Who's proud of every single second of his past."

"It's an illness to always want more money when you've already got infinite riches."

"Is he best player of his generation? Not quite, but he is the most important."

"Pirlo is a silent leader. He speaks with his feet."

"For me, it's always better to keep chasing down the guy in front and maybe finish second, rather than stopping altogether."

"I like to think of myself as a director, on the pitch and in life"

"I'm a bit of a wandering gypsy on the pitch. A midfielder constantly on the lookout for an unspoilt corner where I can move freely just for a moment...A space where I can continue to profess my creed: take the ball, give it to a team-mate, team-mate scores. It's called an assist, and it's my way of spreading happiness."

"I don't feel pressure. I don't give a toss about it. I spent the afternoon of Sunday, July 9, 2006 in Berlin sleeping and playing the PlayStation. In the evening, I went out and won the World Cup."

"I perceive the game in a different way. It's a question of viewpoints, of having a wide field of vision. Being able to see the bigger picture."

"I've got a fair few kilometres under my belt, but it's the short distances that wear me out. They're tests of your mental stamina, rather than your speed. For Neil Armstrong, it was walking on the surface of the moon and, in my case, the ultra-green pitch of the Olympiastadion."

"He's theatrical and knows exactly what he wants."

"Chi non sa che senza le donne sentir non si po contento o satisfazione alcuna in tutta questa nostra vita, la quale senza esse saria rustica e priva d'ogni dolcezza e piú aspera che quella dell'alpestre fiere? Chi non sa che le donne sole levano de' nostri cori tutti li vili e bassi pensieri, gli affanni, le miserie e quelle turbide tristezze che cosí spesso loro sono compagne?"

"Usar in ogni cosa una certa sprezzatura, che nasconda l'arte e dimostri ciò che si fa e dice venir fatto senza fatica e quasi senza pensarvi."

"Però l'anima, aliena dai vicii, purgata dai studi della vera filosofia, versata nella vita spirituale ed esercitata nelle cose dell'intelletto, rivolgendosi alla contemplazion della sua propria sustanzia, quasi da profundissimo sonno risvegliata, apre quegli occhi che tutti hanno e pochi adoprano, e vede in se stessa un raggio di quel lume che è la vera imagine della bellezza angelica a lei communicata, della quale essa poi communica al corpo una debil umbra."

"Abbiate cura che non v'inganniate, pensando forse meritar piú con l'esser clemente che con l'esser giusta; perché perdonando troppo a chi falla si fa ingiuria a chi non falla."

"Secunda felices, adversa magnos probent."

"Habet has vices conditio mortalium, ut adversa ex secundis, ex adversis secunda nascantur."

"Neque enim soli iudicant qui maligne legunt."