When I was with PSV Eindhoven in Holland, some people still thought Asian players weren't good enough to play in Europe. It's always good to rise to the challenge and prove them wrong. When I first came to United, I had to prove my ability again.
My personality, if I was healthy enough to play, I'm going to play! I felt that at 75, 80 percent, even if I had a sprained ankle, if I'm out there on the floor, I could be Deion Sanders.
When I was out there on the floor, I think I did pretty good for myself... I've never really had enough time to play and actually improve.
When I left for Chelsea, I wanted to prove that I could play in the Premier League, but it didn't happen the way I dreamed.
With all the media attention, all the love from the fans, I felt I needed to prove myself. Prove that I'm not a marketing tool, I'm not a ploy to improve attendance. Prove I can play in this league. But I've surrendered that to God. I'm not in a battle with what everybody else thinks anymore.
None of us really pushes hard enough. People always talk about playing over your head when you are up against someone really good. Maybe you don't play over your head at all. Maybe it's just potential you never knew you had.
In my rookie year, I got a chance to play and from there on, I just tried to prove I can be a really good player in this league.
When I was a child, I had it in my head to play in the Champions League and win it.
It's always a good time to play against a team when they come back from Europe, whether it's the Europa League or Champions League.
For me, it was a dream to play in the Premier League. I always wanted to be here because this league is very good, it has very good teams, and Manchester United is the best team in England.
I have had it all over the years, being told I'm not good enough. So whenever the chance comes I always try and prove I should be starting.
Aston Villa had been in touch and they'd gone into the Premier League so I knew I could play in the Premier League just like that.
I, of course, was born as if I was a movie star in my head. Even though I had nothing, in my head I was always royalty. My mother always said, 'I don't know where you came from'. I didn't have their value system. And I always lived beyond my means.
I've got to prove I'm good enough to play for Everton.
You could argue that if the average golfer plays a golf course with 430-yard par 4s and they always miss the green, that's good practice. It's definitely great practice to play a course that's too long for you.
I know when I left the game, I could have played more. There is no question. I think I could have played at a very high level, too. But I could not play the way everyone wanted me to play. And I was not willing to compromise what I felt was a standard that I had established in this league and, particularly, for our fans at home.