To play here and win here in Uruguay is a very difficult thing. Here you have a really strong atmosphere, energy. You have to have your highest focus. You have physical, technical, tactical and mental aspects.
A coach once told me there are four factors that determine a players' performance: his tactical awareness, his physical condition, his technical ability and his mental strength.
I wouldn't be anywhere close to where I am today without my pops. I think a lot of a football player's makeup is mental, and I've been blessed to have someone to learn from. Not just from a technical standpoint, but everything he taught me about being a hard worker, a teammate and just being a football player.
In Spain, everything's more tactical, more technical, with more possession. In Germany, it's more physical; it's about the runs you make, the counterattacks, and the German mentality is unique: whatever the score, you go to the 90th minute.
I play football in training all the time with my male friends, who are also professionals. But playing together in competition? I just don't see it. We have the ability, we have the technique, we have the tactical understanding, but there are physical limitations. You can't get away from that.
In football, 80% of the game is played in your head; the other 20% is physical and tactical.
I love my country, and the mental and physical demands of the Navy SEALs was what I had been training for my whole life growing up in Montana. There's a reason Montana produces more SEALs than any other state. As a collegiate athlete, I enjoyed the mental and physical challenges Division I football presented. When a recruiter first told me about the Navy SEALs, I knew it was the right fit.
In Spain, the game is more technical; in England, it's more physical, while in Italy, it's more tactical. Each country is a challenge, and I like to put myself to the test.
Here the football is more physically strong. The Spanish are more technical. In Italy more tactical. In England... you have to run. We don't fear the tackles, because the people like this.
What happens is once you start to understand football, you realise that it's not just about the physical side of the game and chasing after a ball. It's a strategic sport which requires a lot of intelligence. It's a very mental game.
A country is as strong, really, as its citizens. And I think that mental and physical health - mental and physical vigor - go hand in hand.
I would say Pep Guardiola's No. 1 quality is that he sees the technical and tactical aspect of a game really fast.
European teams have always shied away from South American football. They struggle to get to grips with it. The South American game is more technical and about keeping possession, while European football is more dynamic, physical and direct.
In football, every play, play after play, there's that physicality. Football players only play once a week, so they must really need to rest. That does kind of tell you how physical the sport is. But in hockey, you have the boards. I just couldn't say which is more physical.
I will have to make tactical decisions, technical decisions and emotional decisions. This time it was a tactical one.
Brazil was a very good experience. I learned a lot about how to play football, both technical and physical. There would be a hundred kids of all ages, training and doing classes together.