My parents, of Belgian-German extraction, were Belgian nationals who had taken refuge in England during the war. They returned to Belgium in 1920, and I grew up in the cosmopolitan harbour city of Antwerp, at a time when education in the Flemish part of the country was still half French and half Flemish.
My family is Brazilian and I feel Brazilian, even though I have never lived there. I was born and raised in Belgium so I also feel Belgian. I feel the blood of a Brazilian, but I understand both ways.
What we do for a living is not normal, and therefore, the process is not normal sometimes, and to expect it to be normal is to not understand what happens on set.
I understand shipping - you have to expect to pay for the stamps or for the freight company - but what's this handling they always have? How much does handling cost, anyway? I don't want a lot of people handling something I'm going to buy before I get it. How much would it cost if you didn't handle it before you sent it to me?
Over a period of 20 years, German reunification has cost 2 trillion euros, or an average of 100 billion euros a year. So, we have to ask ourselves: Aren't we willing to pay a tenth of that over several years for Europe's unity?
To be honest, I started playing for Belgium in the youth team stages. As a kid, Belgium was all I knew. We played football with my schoolmates as well as at the academy.
I was born in Belgium and moved to Amsterdam when I was 17. I am not a Calvinist Dutchman but a Catholic Belgian. I think that makes a big difference.
Germany expected that at the most a day or so would see Belgian resistance broken and the dash on Paris begun. It was not safe to start such a forward rush with Belgium unconquered.
Belgium's 1986 team is like the Christmas movie that they bring out every single year. That World Cup is something we get to see and hear about all the time. It is part of our general education in Belgium.
When you're on the road, fans pay to cheer on their team and boo the other team; that's just part of it. That's what they're supposed to do. I expect it. I think everybody expects that.
In Italy... people think that they can win matches with only systems. I say this is impossible because, otherwise, there wouldn't be players that cost 100 million euros and others who cost 1 million.
One thing Dr. Buss asked me to do was to make sure the team continues to evolve and to put a new light on the team, and we've certainly tried to embrace that vision of his, evolving the brand while paying tribute to the past. That's what Laker fans expect and what we try to deliver.
The owners need to have some protection against players jumping from team to team. The fans have the right to expect some continuity on the team they support from year to year.
I am not a mercenary. Milan was my home. They made a good deal, though. They signed me for 10 million euros and sold me for 42 million euros.
I got a lot of fans, like core fans, that love me. I ain't one of the dudes that sell five or 10 million brackets, but my followers are stern. They're there. My fans - Jadakiss fans, LOX fans, D-Block fans - they loyal.
A lot of people forget that their individuality is what makes them so special. Growing up, there's a lot of pressure to be normal. but normal isn't as fun as being yourself. And it's those things about you that really draw people to you.