I do have a son. He's out of school now. He never played football. And it had nothing to do with me. I was actually crushed that he didn't play football. I thought, 'Oh my God, this is awful.' My brothers all played football. My dad played football.
In my time, we had little league and junior league or whatever - before that, there's the sandlot. Kids played baseball wherever you can make a space. We played tackle-football on the street. Now we play basketball in the studio. We have a hoop. But we also have a pitching machine.
My mum worked in a grocery shop and played football, and my dad worked with cars, a sales director, and he played to almost a professional level. His dad played as well.
I played no sports well. Because I was a boy in the United States Of America, I was forced into Little League and played horrible Little League baseball, and played football and basketball in school situations where I was forced to.
I've played in nearly every league and country on these islands, apart from League One. I've played in Scotland, I've played in Wales, in the Premier League and in the Championship. I've been lucky to get a broad footballing education.
When I was a kid, I was always an athlete. I played a lot of sports. I played football, basketball, baseball and soccer.
My dad always played sports. He played football. I always wanted to play football because my dad played football, but my mom never wanted me to play football because she said she couldn't take me getting hit.
When people say 'American soccer,' they think of the U.S. national team. But American soccer also includes Major League Soccer, and until we have a league that produces players at the rate other leagues around the world do, I don't believe we'll ever get to where we want to be.
It's football. You play football. You just play injured. That's how it is. A lot of it comes from my dad. He played for Hayden Fry University in the '80s. He used to tell me about the injuries he played with. One time he tore his ACL in Week 6 and then played in the Rose Bowl in Week 12. So, if he could do that, I can do anything.
In any football I have played in - and I have played in League One and as an international at the World Cup - the bare minimum is running around and showing the desire for the shirt. Then, the higher you go up the leagues, your football takes control of that.
I played basketball; I ran track and also played soccer. I think that I am naturally athletic.
I played everything. I played lacrosse, baseball, hockey, soccer, track and field. I was a big believer that you played hockey in the winter and when the season was over you hung up your skates and you played something else.
I won the title three times with Ajax; I played in the Champions League final and won the league title with Atletico. I have also played in the World Cup.
I grew up in Europe, and soccer was the first organized game I played. When we moved back to the U.S. in the middle of 4th grade, I switched to American football and stopped playing competitively until college, when I played intramurals.
I lived in Germany from when I was 6 until I was 10, so, of course, I played soccer. When I came back to the States, nobody played soccer, and none of the schools taught German, so I couldn't continue to excel in those categories.
I played in Europe and it was a great experience, not just because of my team-mates and the coaches we had, but from the fans and the city itself - I played in Gothenburg and I played in Lyon and soccer was everywhere.