Top 25 Jaap Stam Quotes

I’ve been with clubs who won the league championships in Holland and England, which was brilliant, and to win the Champions League with Manchester United was an amazing experience.

Far too often English players seem determined to keep running after getting a whack on the leg, even though the chance to get a shot in has gone.

It wasn’t until I was about 16 that I began to grow and develop as a player.

If I hadn’t made it as a footballer I would have been an electrician. I studied to be an electrician even though I was progressing at football because you never know at that stage if you are going to be there for sure.

I was actually quite small when I was young. No one believes me now, but I have pictures at home.

I don’t regret writing my book at all. I wrote it for the United supporters to give them a proper insight into what it is like inside the club, and what it is like to be a Manchester United player. I think I did that in an honest way.

It was a great time working at Reading, especially the first season getting very close to going to the Premier League.

Of course, when you play football yourself you can think you want to become a manager but it does not make you a good manager.

In Holland you go into amateur teams, come up through the ranks and are generally spotted for senior or professional football. At 16, I had made it into a men’s amateur team, and was picked up professionally from there.

It’s tricky for me to take a dive, though. If I fall down under the slightest kick, I’m going to look stupid falling down like I’ve been shot.

When you go to school in Holland you learn to speak English and write in English – but English is different from the Scottish language!

I just played football from an early age and didn’t get involved in any other sports. We had tennis, cycling, ice skating – I’d like to have skated more, because it’s so physical. Ten minutes on the ice and you really feel it in your back.

I admit to becoming frustrated by the frequency of diving in the Champions League.

I always watched professional football and my father played at an amateur level, but I didn’t think I wanted to become a pro.

For me, a late start was a good thing. A lot of kids who start too early get bored. I’d done all the things I wanted to do, I’d enjoyed myself, having fun and playing as an amateur and that was important.

Yes, I am just a type who likes to watch the cat out of the tree. I want to start quietly, and then always build, always go higher.

I have always been a Manchester United supporter since I was a child, so that won’t change.

I had my own youth. I had fun playing in the amateurs, going out with my friends on the weekend, drinking a beer, that sort of thing.

It’s football, you work with humans and humans make mistakes. We will do everything in our power to prepare the players so they know to make the right decision at the right times.

In Serie A players have to stay in a hotel before a home game to ensure proper preparations without the distractions a wife and family can bring. It’s a system which no doubt suits some players, but would not be my choice.

As a manager, you need to have your own vision and what you want to do with the team.

I’m sure I can work the Premier League, maybe my style of play is better suited to the Premier League than in the Championship.

All of Europe’s biggest clubs place the Champions’ League as their top priority these days but only one of us can lift the trophy. The domestic league titles are still crucial of course, but I think most players will tell you the Champions’ League is the one they want to win most of all.

As a defender it can also be more frustrating to play in Italy because referees do not tolerate too much physical contact. I loved the physical nature of the game in England, but in Serie A I only have to look at a player and they sometimes fall to the floor!

I have a reputation and name myself, everyone knows that. But I believe in myself as well.