Top 25 Soccer Quotes of 2011

It's amazing what you can learn from some of the biggest names in international soccer.

The game's head honcho, FIFA president Sepp Blatter, would tell you that players should shrug off racial abuse and shake hands after a match.

Broadcaster Andy Gray would tell you that women are poor game officials.

And world-renowned pretty boy Cristiano Ronaldo would tell you that people hate him because…well, you already know.

We've gathered those three brilliant tidbits, along with 22 more, here in our 25 best soccer quotes of 2011. It's a list we think successfully reflects the state of the game over the past 12 months.

Did we forget something? By all means, let us know about it in the comments.

Sepp Blatter on Racism

"

Racism and discrimination of any kind have no place in football. ... However—and it is not an excuse—sometimes, in the heat of the moment, things are said and done on the field of play. This does not mean that, in general, there is racism on the field of play.

"

—FIFA President Sepp Blatter. He also said the players should shake hands after the game if something racist is said during the match.

Yes, this is who's running world soccer.

Andy Gray on Women

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Can you believe that? A female linesman. Women don’t know the offside rule.

"

—SkySports broadcaster Andy Gray, on the performance of female assistant referee Sian Massey during a match in January. He thought his microphone was off.

He was later fired.

Cristiano Ronaldo on His Awesomeness

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I think that because I am rich, handsome and a great player people are envious of me. I don't have any other explanation.

"

—Cristiano Ronaldo. No explanation necessary.

Juninho Gets Fashion Advice

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Sometimes he walks by and says that he likes my clothes, which is a good sign. It means I’ve passed the test!

"

—LA Galaxy's Juninho, on David Beckham's fashion advice.

Julio Grondona on the Importance of Being Open-Minded

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With the English bid I said: 'Let us be brief. If you give back the Falkland Islands which belong to us, you will get my vote.' They then became sad and left.

"

—Argentina FA president and FIFA vice president Julio Grondona on the bidding process for the 2018 World Cup. England did not win.

Grondona also said a vote for the USA would be like a vote for England.

And way back in 2003, he had some interesting things to say about Jewish referees.

Yes, this is who's running the world of soccer.

Djibril Cisse on Miroslav Klose

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We never stop talking to each other, not even under the shower.

"

—Djibril Cisse, on how he and fellow Lazio forward Miroslav Klose developed their close partnership on the field.

Gary Neville on Video Games

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Whenever I watch him play, to me David Luiz looks like he's being controlled by a 10-year-old in the crowd on a PlayStation.

"

—SkySports pundit Gary Neville on Chelsea's David Luiz.

Andre Villas-Boas Fires Back

"

Gary was a fantastic defender but I have nothing to say about his opinion. It's a stupid approach to an opinion, but if that's the way he wants to take the game, that's ridiculous.

"

—Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas responds to Gary Neville.

Sam Allardyce on the Value of Being Realistic

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I'd walk over burning coals to get the England job.

"

—Sam Allardyce, whose managerial resume includes "successful" spells at Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United.

Luis Alvaro Oliveira Ribeiro on Neymar

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We concluded negotiations today. This tussle has been like that of Don Quixote but has ended well, with a concrete result, and that is that Neymar will continue to the World Cup, under a signed and sealed contract.

"

—Santos president Luis Alvaro Oliveira Ribeiro on signing Neymar to a new contract. In the book, Don Quixote goes crazy, recovers his sanity after a dream and in his final will stipulates that his niece marry a man who reads books about chivalry.

Dave Whelan Has Delusions of Grandeur

"

The time comes for everyone when you need to retire or take a step back because you're simply not what you used to be. What I would like to do is create a dynasty here at Wigan Athletic. My grandson is a bright boy, and is massively keen on football and Wigan Athletic. I'm inclined to let him have a go and I hope that happens.

"

—Wigan owner Dave Whelan. His grandson is 21.

Gennaro Gattuso Gives Ibra a Backhanded Compliment

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Someone like Ibra in Italy should score 30 goals a season. For a player of his quality, he scores too little.

"

—AC Milan's Gennaro Gattuso on teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Giada's Cousin Talks Tables

"

When I receive an indecent proposal I’ll listen to it, but it has to be the kind of offer that takes my breath away. He’s un-sellable, but if someone wants to sit at my table then they need to know that it is an expensive one.

"

—Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis on tthe availability of Marek Hamsik. De Laurentiis is the first cousin of Food Network chef/hottie Giada De Laurentiis.

Paul Merson Goes on and on

"

It is definitely the worst day for Arsene Wenger in charge and it is even the worst day for a long time in Arsenal's history. Since I started there in 1984, I cannot remember much worse than what we have seen here. It was shocking, just shocking," he said.

There are much lesser teams with much less talent than Arsenal who will come to Old Trafford this season and make it doubly as difficult as they did today.

You have got to have tactics - you can't just have a Plan A, you have to have a plan B. The way Wenger set up wasn't good enough. You can't put teams out all the time and just say 'go and play the Arsenal way' - that isn't fair on the players.

Don't put those kinds of players on the pitch and make them like lambs to the slaughter - it's not good enough. You have got to start looking at the manager now and asking questions. What is he thinking? I'm not joking, but a League Two could come here next Saturday and make it much more difficult for United than that.

"

—Former Gunner Paul Merson's long-winded take on Arsenal's 8-2 loss at Old Trafford in August.

The Special One Talks Rocks

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With all the stones being thrown against me you could build a monument.

"

—Special One Jose Mourinho further develops his well-honed persecution complex.

Muricy Ramalho Bemoans the Fame of Footballers

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Since coming to Santos I have learned that the player is actually a pop star. If you see what happens at airports when the Santos players arrive, it's like a joke.

"

—Santos coach Muricy Ramalho on Santos' players.

Arsene Wenger on How to Keep Players

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Our position is always the same; we want to keep Cesc and I will fight as hard as I can to keep him. Samir Nasri is exactly the same. We will do everything we can to keep him.

"

—Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger on keeping top players at the club.

Luis Enrique Talks Trash About His Own Team

"

Roma are like a dessert that everyone is happy to eat.

"

—Roma coach Luis Enrique.

Gio Trap Talks Cats

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The cat is in the sack, but the sack is not closed. The cat is in it, but it's open—and it's a wild cat.

"

—Republic of Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni after his side defeated Estonia 4-0 in the first leg of the Euro 2012 playoffs.

Lucas on Bolt

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Wow! With that time, I can already begin training to beat Bolt!

"

—Brazil's Lucas after dribbling 85 meters in 13 seconds. He was referring to world's fastest man Usain Bolt.

We Three Kings

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Asia for now is a kingdom of three kings, namely Australia, Japan and Korea Republic. But we must work hard to make them accept Iran as the fourth king and this is our goal for the near future.

"

—Iran coach Carlos Queiroz.

Sir Brooking on England

"

There appears to be a reluctance with one or two youngsters to get that tournament experience.

I come from a generation where I couldn't even contemplate such a thing. I find it amazing."

There are great rewards out there. You can become a multi-millionaire as a club player without playing international football.

But international football is about individual pride and wanting to perform at the highest level.

If I got picked at 41, I would have played, even if I thought I would make a fool of myself. I just wanted to play for my country.

"

—Former England international Sir Trevor Brooking on playing for England.

Jürgen Klopp on Mario Götze

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Anyone who is not interested in Mario Götze is clueless, to be honest.

"

—Borussia Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp.

Zarate Predicts the Future

"

It’s true that I’m on an assist bonus. I believe I got nine last year, which is quite a lot. I think more clubs could use the assist clause in the future.

"

—Inter Milan striker Mauro Zarate. He's got a point.

Holger Stanislawski on Snot and Beer

"

My philosophy is to play attacking football from a stable defensive foundation.

It is also to be snotty at times and to occasionally look the opponents in the eyes and say, 'Come on, my friend, now I am going to attack you 22 times and it is not going to be a pleasant afternoon for you.'

I will be telling my lads to shoot, to pepper their goal.

And if occasionally somebody in row 37 gets their beer knocked out of their hands, then who cares? It gives the impression that we play attractive football.

"

—Hoffenheim coach Holger Stanislawski on playing Bayern Munich.