Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
The Champions League is very difficult - there are so many big teams in Europe, and one bad day, and you can be out.
If you want to achieve something and have results and win competitions at a high level, you have to defend as a team.
I have lots of energy, but that doesn't happen like magic. I put in many extra hours in the gym and with the physios.
I want to try to have fun as long as I can and play football at a high level. I do not know how long that will go on.
If you want to play dominant football, you need to get the ball, think fast, and play quick combinations in small spaces.
I think that in each stage of your career, you need certain things to improve your game and to develop your style of play.
I really don't see myself in the Europa League and don't want to play in it. I couldn't care less about winning the trophy.
You have to surprise opponents, keep them guessing. Doing the same thing over and over again without variation will not work.
I think I had a positive development at Chelsea. I was very young when I arrived, only 20, and the problem I had was injuries.
What I will miss the most about Guardiola? His obsession with the game and his knowledge, which makes you a better football player.
The appreciation between Bayern and I has always been there, from both sides. I know what I have at this club, and I always say that.
Even during a sprint, I can occasionally still accelerate. I am so fit that I can accelerate during a acceleration, like making a new start.
Munich is a great city. I have lived in many cities in Europe, but I have never felt this comfortable, and my wife and children love it as well.
I'm a very explosive player and need everything to be right. I started working with an osteopath the last year I was in Madrid and have stayed with him.
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.
In my period at Chelsea, I was sometimes the one who switched sides because we were playing with two left-footed guys on the wings with myself and Damian Duff.
Bayern had no international success in the years before I joined, and my goal was actually to play at the best possible level, which would have meant winning the Champions League.
The best thing about football, and sport in general, is that if you suffer a big disappointment, then there is no better feeling than coming back the following year and doing well.
The most important thing for me is to feel that young players want to learn on the training pitch. If they spend 10 hours sitting around playing PlayStation, that's their business.
The best and most important step of my career was when I moved here - and Louis van Gaal brought me from Madrid to Bayern. It was the best move of my career, and it's thanks to him.
If you're at school, children who play football, you give everything to win... If you don't succeed, that's a huge disappointment. Then it's okay to be sad, but better times are coming.
The football in Spain is more about skill and technique. Every team tries to play good football. The physical side, with plenty of running and hard tackling, plays more of a role in the Bundesliga.
Some referees have to think about treating every player the same, even if it's Ronaldinho or another player from a Premiership club. It doesn't matter how good you are: you have to be treated the same.
Manchester United? That's not an option. I am staying at Bayern Munich. Period. I had a great time under Van Gaal at Bayern, he has been very important for my career but I am very happy at my current club.
You need to be very critical of yourself. There are a few very good managers who can make players better individually. Most managers think about the team process - and so you have to improve things on your own.
I do not understand players going to China at the age of 27 or 28. Those guys are at the peak of their career. That is a waste, really. You only get one career. I sort of understand players who are already in their 30s.
When we are in possession, tactically, he is the best coach in the world for me. He works hard, watches a lot of games, and prepares us really well. Guardiola has the feeling for gaping spaces, and he already had that as a player.
I never had problems with injuries as a kid or in the youth team. My injuries started at Chelsea, when I broke my foot during a pre-season game. That was just pure bad luck, but after that, I had some muscular injuries, too, so I had to get to know my body better.
I guess my earliest football memories are of playing in the street and also the little pitches at school. I joined the local football team in my village when I was small, but we would play only once or twice a week. I honed my skills just by playing for fun with friends after school.
I've been playing football for a while, but Guardiola really made me a better player. I was 29 when I started working with him, so I wasn't very young, but if you see the steps I made thanks to him, it shows you what he is capable of doing. Guardiola didn't just put me on the flanks but in other positions as well.
In my youth-team days, I was always a left-winger who would stay close to the byline and put crosses in the box, so I could never cut inside and shoot. It was only when I joined Real Madrid and started playing in a more central position, and then on the right wing, that I suddenly realised I had a really dangerous weapon.
Every league has its own culture, its own identity, and its own type of football. It's very physical in England, but technical skill comes to the fore in Spain, where everybody wants to play beautiful football. The standards are very high in Germany, too; the teams are physically strong, very disciplined, and very well organised.