Kevin Hitchcock, the goalkeeping coach at QPR, is an old mate, and I came to work for him on the understanding that I was first choice. If he'd said to me, 'We're also going to sign someone who's won Serie A five times and the Champions League and is one of the biggest names in South American football,' I would have thought twice before signing.
If you would have told me when I was 24 years old, right before I went with Coach Carroll to USC, you're going to get to be the offensive coordinator for Pete Carroll and then offensive coordinator for Nick Saban, arguably maybe the two best coaches in all of football by the time you're 40 years old, I would have said, 'Where do I sign up?'
Xavi has won the Champions League three times, the European Championship twice and the World Cup. He's a real football player, a man who focuses on his football, hard work and training instead of the glamour, and that is why he has stayed at such a high level for so long.
If I had a choice between the Champions League and the Golden Boot, then of course it would be the Champions League - no doubt the Champions League.
I'll remember my first league title, my first cup, the Champions League. But also the defeats - that's also part of football.
When I was five years old I would see Champions League games and I asked God to let me have a part in these games and to show my quality to the world and to be famous for football and to try my best.
I learned an invaluable lesson from a kid in Argentina when we were playing Buenos Aires in 2002. I came out of the hotel and this 16-year-old-boy asked me to sign his copy of my Six Wives of Henry VIII album. As I was signing it I asked him 'what does a 16 year-old like about this old music?' and he looked at me, quite hurt, and said, 'it might be old to you, Mr Wakeman, but I only heard it for the first time last week. When you hear something for the first time, it's new.' I've never forgotten that.
Coming from a small South Dakota school, it was a different route to get to the NFL. I went from South Dakota State to the World League of American Football with the Amsterdam Admirals, and fortunately I did well enough there that the New England Patriots decided to sign me and give me a chance.
I remember my first time in the Champions League. I was 18, and it was Arsenal against Milan at The Emirates. The night before, I remember I put my music on my iPod. I was lying in bed, and I listened to the Champions League music. That was my Champions League debut, my first time. It was beautiful.
There was a time when I was in the South, singing, and someone came to me before the show and said, 'There's been a threat on your life. Someone had phoned in and said they were going to shoot you if you go on stage.' I was singing 'Chances Are,' and I kept moving so they wouldn't have a shot at me.
You can't say it's good when guys out there are signing minor league deals and they would be big league players on 80 percent of the teams, but why would a team sign a player when you can pay dirt, and they're not going to win anyway?
Kevin Keegan said if he had a blank sheet of paper, five names would be on it.
If someone were to ask me before I made the NBA, you going to have to go through all this, you're going to have to sign your soul away to play in the league, I still would have done it.
I always think when you're in the Champions League, as a player, as a fan now, you're in that to come up against the biggest teams and the biggest names - that's what you want.
I have won Serie B, Serie C, Serie D like the Championship, League One, and League Two here in England.
When Chelsea came to me and said they wanted me to come back, I was happy because I had a special moment here - one of the best in my career. I won the Champions League, the Europa League.
I remember, in 2008, and we won the Champions League and the Premier League, and we were having our photos taken with the trophies, and someone said to me, 'Patrice, you don't look happy.' I said, 'It's because we are missing the FA Cup.'