Top 100 Quotes & Sayings by Adebayo Akinfenwa - Page 2

I am not a small guy - I will be the first to say it.

A footballer who says they don't want to start games is in the wrong job.

With hard work comes rewards and I want to make youngsters who could have gone left but went right find the right path.

People have tried to push me into other sports, but it's always been football.

A player's mind, body and soul have to be right to get the best out of them, and if a player no longer wants to be at a club then the club should try and get the best deal they can and let the player move on.

Don't try to kid yourself that your game is about pace if it isn't. If you're a big guy like me you need to look at how similarly built players use that physical presence to influence a game. Accept that your build may have some limitations - but plenty of plus points too.

My stats speak for themselves; I've got a good touch for a big man, I know I can find the back of the net.

I do think there is a responsibility for myself as being a senior professional footballer to be able to pass on my experiences to the younger generation.

It may sound cliched, but it just shows that when you don't let people put you in a box then anything can happen.

I was asked to go in a banana suit once or eat as many doughnuts as possible. I would not do those things. I don't eat doughnuts so why would I eat 20.

During my career I've come back to clubs after the summer break to see one of my team-mates not really at it because he's been denied a move to a bigger club for whatever reason, and you can see in his body language that he doesn't want to be there and that kind of thing is massively disruptive and negative.

People said: 'You're too big to play football,' but I kept playing and it just happened that people have caught on to me and taken to me. The nicest thing I get from it is that I can be myself and people seem to like it.

Players build up friendships with each other, so when a team-mate wants out, part of you understands that he is torn and you know you can't begrudge him a move. But the other part of you wants him to stay because you want to win games.

Football was my saving grace so I want to let people know that you can achieve whatever you want. People like to concentrate on what you can't do, so let's preach what you can. Why would I want to talk about not being quick when I'm strong? That's what I want to get across.

Everyday I'm just going to continue defying limitations.

My size works against me as well, as some players I would just touch and they would fall over to get a free kick.

If I'm destined to play in the MLS, I will.

As long as I am feeling good I will play football. As long as I am feeling fit, strong and being affective on and off the pitch, I will play the game I love.

My old boss Aidy Boothroyd is a great man and I've got no malice or anything toward him.

I like being the biggest on the pitch, I don't want to look at the other guys and think his arms are bigger than mine.

Everyone has got a perception of what a footballer is and, because I am a certain size, that I can only play one way - as a battering ram.

Sometimes it is tough and frustrating to sit on the bench.

Training to be a tough tackler isn't easy - you don't want to injure yourself or team-mates so it's crucial that you have self-belief in your abilities and strength.

Look, nobody can begrudge Steven Gerrard doing what he wants to do. He has just been a legend.

I'd like to be a Marvel character and get in one of those films.

I've always been big, my brothers are my size, we come from good stock.

As you get older, you know what you're good at and you know what you're not so good at. Your ego comes out of it, and then you realise you can't play every game, there'll be certain games where you won't be so affected... so you've just got to concentrate on what you are.

I was raised on an estate in an inner city school where people had a go about my size, people saying I am too big to play football - which still happens today - and I used that to inspire me.

People concentrate on 'oh you can't do that,' or 'you're a bit too big for that' or whatever, rather than just concentrating on what you're good at. It's about being comfortable with the skin you're in, being comfortable within your own mind.

Gym sessions will always consist of 40 minutes to one-hour cardio. I try to stay off the treadmill because of the pounding, so it's the rower or the cross-trainer.

I'm aware that there are a lot of guys playing at amateur level with a build like mine and I say stick at it, use what you've got to make an impact on the game.

Sometimes you're not blessed with the materialistic stuff but you're blessed with a work ethic.

My Christian faith has guided me.

More than anything I prefer the ball on the floor. I think I play my best football on the floor. There is a delicacy to this big giant.

Even though I am getting my coaching badges, I am more into mentoring.

I'm an eclectic individual when it comes to film. I love my Disney: 'Aladdin,' 'The Lion King.' Also, 'Romeo+Juliet,' the Leonardo DiCaprio version.

I'd always been one of the strongest players in the game, but officially in 'Fifa 14' I was the strongest in the world. If they say so, I must be. I like that.

It's about sticking to your strengths - I'm not trying to run away from nobody or do any double stopovers or anything like that, have you seen how big these legs are? Though i'm sure people would love to see it.

I think I would have held my own in the NFL.

As a big man you may struggle to get much height when jumping for a ball - but by training with your defender team-mates you can develop a technique for making strong challenges in the air, making defenders uncomfortable and work on taking the ball down.