In England, there is a tradition of playing on Saturday. But in Spain, I won the UEFA Cup with Valencia playing on Thursday and Sunday, which was just the same.
I feel really proud of my career – more here in England than in Spain. There are different mentalities. Here the people respect you.
I know Spain football very well, because I’ve always been interested in it, even after I left Spain.
In Spain, we always talk about Madrid and Barca for the title and that is normal because they are the two teams with the most history.
I had a wonderful time in Spain. I had the pleasure of being a league champion twice in a row and playing for a big club like Real Madrid, which gave me a higher profile.
I still live in an apartment in Paris with my wife. No, we don’t have a yacht, but we do have a house in Spain; that is my luxury.
In Spain, there’s a lot more publicity.
I really enjoy my life in Spain.
Real Madrid? There is no agreement, but I promised my grandfather I would play there one day. Why wouldn’t I want to discover new things? As I’ve said several times, I’d like to play in Spain and have good weather for once in my life!
It has been very good playing here at a high level in Spain, in La Liga, every week. I get to train and focus hard for the games and, for me, it has been very good.
The Premier League is different to Spain.
When I was 15, 16, I started going to a studio and my biggest inspiration were women, like Lola Flores from Spain or Janis Joplin or Patti Smith.
When I go to Colombia or Mexico, I speak Spanish. When I go to Italy, I speak Italian. When I’m in Germany, I speak German. Would I expect them to speak English in these countries? No. I mean, great if they do, but no. Would I be offended if in Spain they say we speak Spanish? No. If I was an immigrant there, no.
In a unified and diverse Spain, based on the equality of and solidarity between its people, there is room for all of us. And for all of our feelings and sensitivities and our distinct ways of being Spaniards.
You can be a manager in Spain, France or Italy but when you come to England the intensity is totally different. It is about the fight, the spirit. The intensity is extremely difficult.
There are people doing yoga in New York, dancing around; that’s the power of India. You go to a nightclub somewhere in Spain and there’s Amitabh Bachchan on the screen there, dancing around. That’s the power of India. That’s the power of Indian people.
Mum was always hard-working. She came over from Spain and bought her own council house.
The Spanish league has better individual players than the German league. However, in Germany, there are more teams that are uncomfortable to play against because they are more aggressive than teams in Spain.
I was born at a bad time for Spain, but a really good one for cinema.
You have to know your role. But you need everybody to win games. You can’t win by yourself – not in the NBA, not in Europe, not in Spain.
The press often ask me about Messi and Ronaldo and who is the best, but one thing for me is very clear. For me, the No. 1 is Andres Iniesta, because he is my team-mate for Spain, and I can see that he is able to do even more difficult things on the pitch.
The attacks in Jordan, just like those before it in Indonesia, Egypt, Spain and the United States, demonstrate that terrorism does not discriminate by race, ethnicity or region. Instead, terrorists indiscriminately target those seeking to live a peaceful, loving and free life.
The dream of everyone is playing in Spain, Madrid, or Barcelona.
I am a follower of the Spain team. I think I did things correct, with the greatest honesty, always under the premise that I would say yes to Real Madrid.
In every country, you play a different style of football. Sometimes if it’s really tactical, like it is in Spain, it seems like it slows down the tempo, but it’s not really the case.
I must say, the standard of football we play in League Two is better than I thought. I think, if you compared it with the fourth division in other countries, such as Italy, Germany and Spain, League Two is much, much better – and that’s very positive. The intensity and the tempo is as high as the Premier League.
In Holland and Spain and France, where so many of us come from, people aren’t interested in the sex lives of their players. We don’t hear these stories – even in Italy where the media is right on top of football.
It wasn’t easy to leave Barcelona. I fulfilled a dream when I moved there – to play in Spain and for the champions – but very few players stay in the same club all their life. To leave is normal.
I prefer to play in Spain than in the Premiership. Spanish football is more like my qualities.
Now, when I play soul piano, for instance, and I play a rendition of ‘Spain,’ I do it deconstructively. That’s the most fun, but I can only do that when I’m on my own.
I have said in the past that I dream of playing in Spain, but Dortmund has become my second home. I love this club, its fans, and this city.
With Tenerife, we had to fight in the most difficult second division in Spain with Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, and Real Betis, and we were promoted. I know you have to fight until the last day. We were promoted in the last game.
The commerce of India does not grow, nor does that of Portugal, or of Turkey; that but that of the protected countries does increase, as has been shown in the case of Spain, and can now be shown in that of Germany.
Spanglish is the encounter: perhaps the word is marriage or divorce of English and Spanish, but also of Anglo and Hispanic civilizations – not only in the United States but in the entire continent and, perhaps, also in Spain.
These countries – Spain, France, Germany – have environments that are really geared toward the professional player.
Del Piero is like Raul in Spain, he is the number one.
The interesting thing about the China story, getting back to the macro and micro, and as dire as I think the macro story is – due to bad credit and credit extension that makes Greece and Spain and the U.S. look like child’s play – when you get to the micro of individual companies, they look even worse.
No party or event is without a reason. This is how we foster new relationships, open doors, and launch new ideas that create business opportunities, investments, and jobs in the U.S. and Spain.
Everything is global now. It’s not London, it’s not Spain, it’s not Italy – everything is everywhere. So you have to be everywhere, I guess.
When I left Barcelona, staying in Spain was an important factor in my decision to join Madrid. I did not have to change country or learn a new language, adopt a different sort of lifestyle, and so on.
I have a direct line with Obama. It’s a crucial link. And I can put Spain in the spotlight.
When I was living in Los Angeles, I always booked a moisturizing milk-and-honey massage the day before flying to Spain. It was heaven – I never got dry plane skin or felt stiff from sitting in one position.
I like to fish. I always go when I’m on holidays in Spain.
I never played in Spain. To play for Real Madrid or Barcelona would be great.
You don’t have to go fight bulls in Spain like Hemingway to write something great, or go off to war. It’s right under your nose.
I’ve coached in Holland, Portugal and Spain and not only won trophies each time, but taken sides to the latter stages of the Champions League.
The coffee’s good in Italy. It’s good in Spain. It’s good in Istanbul. The coffee’s not so good in America.
When I was younger, I had some close friends who always loved European football, and Real Madrid at that time were the dominant force. I remember family holidays when we used to go to Spain, and we’d bring back replica shirts of Real Madrid and pretend to be the players when we played in the park.
When I was in Spain, I always thought about the best teams in the world, and maybe the biggest and most-supported club is Manchester United.
There’s a movie called ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age,’ where I’m playing the King of Spain. It’s a small role, but it’s really, really interesting, the way I constructed it.
Having managed in Holland, Spain, and Germany, I had always hoped for the opportunity to manage in English football and be part of English culture.
At 17… I went to the second division in Spain, played a lot of minutes, and we actually won that league.
I would never rule out returning to Spain. I have good memories, and I would like to go back at some point.
I think it’s a thing in France, and I think you see it a little bit in Spain with Atletico: the countries and the cities just absolutely love their football. It’s not because they’re just marketing geniuses; it’s because they’ve made it simple.
After that I won a prize, I was with a group of ancient music of Spain that they helped me a lot with a grant, you see, during three years. And so I made my debut in 1944 and I found myself helping my family, it was a very poor family.
In 1980 I was attacked by a dog in Spain and was temporarily blinded in one eye – I thought it would end my tennis career.
I haven’t done great things for Spain – I can’t lie – but when I play well, they should say so. They criticise me for my character, but I also have quality.
