“I realised that not too long ago. You ask yourself: “But why am I such a pain in the ass?” Then you realise you’ve spent your life being against things: against teachers in class, in the schoolyard or on the street, against the people you want to score goals against, against your parents who yell at you, against the defender, the goalkeeper, against everyone. And the paradox is being like that while playing a team sport.” “It didn’t always work in my favour, especially at school. When I was 12, my English teacher called my parents in to tell them, “I’m pregnant, and I think I’m going to have a miscarriage because of your son. I don’t want him looking at me anymore.” On retiring at 32: “In the match against Sampdoria (with Juventus), who were playing the offside trap. They sent me a ball over the defence, I controlled it and I ran. I was five meters ahead at the start and by the time I reached the 18 yard box, I was five meters behind. That really hurt! I told myself, “It’s time to stop playing football.” On modern football: “Kids don’t know who I am. But when their parents tell them, “That man has three Ballon d’Or awards,” their eyes light up. Today, the Ballon d’Or is the Holy Grail, not the player’s track record. We had values that were a bit different from those of today’s players. We played for a team, for the fans. Today, they say, “I want to go down in history.” They aren’t attached to clubs or fans. Professional football is now all about brands and mercenaries, nothing else!”   submitted by   /u/Sparky-moon [link]   [comments]