Top 591 Barcelona Quotes & Sayings - Page 9

I am a curious creature and put my finger in as many cakes as I can: history, film, technology, etc. I'm also a freak for urban history, particularly Barcelona, Paris and New York. I know more weird stuff about 19th-century Manhattan than is probably healthy.

I don't speak Spanish. I understand enough of it, having spent some time running Telemundo, and I put in a lot of time in Spain during the Barcelona Olympics. But I don't pretend to speak Spanish, and I don't want anyone to think that I can.

You wanted me to do what? That I say no a second time to Barcelona? It was impossible for me. I'm in a crazy club there, next to the best. Every year, the club is semi-finalist or finalist of the Champions League!

Barcelona is the best education possible. Training with Messi is something I will never forget - he was always the last off the pitch and working incredibly hard in the gym. If he is the best player in the world and works so hard, who are we? You can have all the crazy talent but you need to work.

I admire Arsenal and the philosophy that the young players have. Liverpool, with their Spanish players, they also have an incredible squad. And Manchester United and Chelsea are teams that are very big, like Real Madrid and Barcelona, with money and incredible players.

You want to play in the best stadiums against the best players - your Real Madrid's and Barcelona's - you want to play those teams.

Barcelona players know how to summon up Messi into the game, letting him rest in periods of the match and then using his services at vital moments when he shows up in the middle of the pitch to create his magical plays.

The Cemetery of Forgotten Books is like the greatest, most fantastic library you could ever imagine. It's a labyrinth of books with tunnels, bridges, arches, secret sections - and it's hidden inside an old palace in the old city of Barcelona.

I had the chance to play for a lot of different teams in the Premier League, but I think all the choices I made were the right ones. I could name a lot - with Gremio, PSG, Barcelona, Milan, Flemengo Mineiro. I was lucky enough to score a few goals, and they were all beautiful.

I can live in Paris for four months or London or, you know, Barcelona. These are places that are like New York. But I don't think I could live in many places. When I had to make a film in the United States I picked San Francisco because to me it's one of the great cities of America.

People remember the treble in 1999 as if we only had to turn up to collect three trophies. But on that cup run, we were 1-0 down against Liverpool going into injury time, and we turned it around to win 2-1. And everyone remembers the Champions League final in Barcelona, where the same thing happened.

My best has to be for Barcelona against Villarreal in 2006 - that is the one I am asked most about, and it is the one I am most proud of. Xavi chipped the ball to me, I chested it down, twisted and hit an overhead kick. It was the final goal in a 4-0 win.

One thing I've done in my life is train year-round to compete at anything, anything. I've got an invitation now to maybe be on the karate team for the Barcelona Olympics. I'm debating whether I want to do that. I just love to compete, and I want to win.

I was 14 in Barcelona, and when I initially went there, I didn't see my mum for six months and my dad for four months. Australia is far from Spain, but I don't remember how long or how short the days felt. I think what was most difficult for my parents was that if anything went wrong, they couldn't say, 'OK, we'll be there in a couple of hours.'

For 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona,' for example, Woody Allen is one of the greatest American directors, and we really had a very good working relationship. We understand each other really well. He gave me one of the best opportunities somebody has ever given me in my career.

When Seoul hosted the Games in 1988, it became a symbol of the Asian Tigers' ascent onto the world stage. In 1992, the Barcelona Olympics represented the unification of Europe. And when Rio plays host in 2016, it will reinforce the growing importance of Brazil and Latin America as a whole.

When Pep played this incredibly attractive and multifaceted football in Barcelona, a lot was written and said about Barca's playing with the ball. But the real madness was counter-pressing. Most opponents never had the ball for longer than five seconds before they got smashed by this machine.

I love this style: get the ball back quickly, then play possession with so many combinations. When you watch that, you get the feeling you want to go out on the pitch and play football with your friends and just enjoy yourself. City and Barcelona are great examples.

In December 2005 I had a very good opportunity to test Renault's world championship-winning car at Barcelona, and after 30 laps I was setting really good times, so I know what it's like to drive a really good car.

Everybody knows that Coutinho is a great footballer - here in England, they call him 'The Magician.' He made his decision to join Barcelona, but every time we meet and play for the Selecao, we have a good chat and maintain that friendship. He is an exceptional guy and one of the best friends football has given me.

I am not saying that I am at the same level as Messi or Ronaldo. They are the best two players in the world, but I am very proud that I managed to finish above them in the goalscoring charts, especially as I was playing for Atletico Madrid, not Barcelona or Real Madrid.

While studying at Barcelona, Ignatius was in doubt whether, after completing his studies, he should enter some Religious Order, or go from place to place, according to his custom. He decided to enter upon the religious life.

The Cemetery of Forgotten Books is like the greatest, most fantastic library you could ever imagine. Its a labyrinth of books with tunnels, bridges, arches, secret sections - and its hidden inside an old palace in the old city of Barcelona.

Milionaria' is the first song I've composed and I published in Catalan, it's also the first song I do inspired by Catalan rumba. I started it in Seville while I was waiting at the airport and I finished it in Barcelona.

When we are little, we always dream, and the first teams that come into your head are those on the world stage for their marketing, their image, their publicity. That makes you dream about how nice it would be to play for Real Madrid, to play for Barcelona.

I think, for Catalonia, FC Barcelona means a lot because it is one of the top clubs in the world, and that means that it's a way to show what Catalonia is in the world.

Because of my job, I get a lot of opportunity to grab a few days here and there in many cool cities for press commitments, magazine shoots and premieres - Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Paris, Stockholm, New York, Berlin. I always try to get to a gallery or museum if there's time.

The fact that an Englishman has an Argentinian as an idol is very rare. I keep watching my [title-winning] goal against QPR and every time I get more emotional. My plan is to stay here because I'm convinced Manchester City will be at the same level as Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Many great teams have players who have come through the youth system or have been at the club for a long time as their captains. I'm thinking of Steven Gerrard at Liverpool, John Terry at Chelsea, Raul at Real Madrid, as well as Puyol at Barcelona and Gary Neville at Man United.

If you are Cesc, going to Barcelona, he will make more money, more sponsorship, and he is going home. What did Arsenal do to keep him at the club? Absolutely nothing. Now the fans say he is not loyal. When you leave Arsenal, you become a traitor, regardless of what you have done.

England is the biggest league in the world. Of course, you have Barcelona and Real Madrid but, as a league, England is in my opinion the best in the world.

If I ever leave Fiorentina, I would very much like to go to Manchester United because out of the three best teams in Europe - United, Lazio, and Barcelona - Manchester, in my opinion, is the best.

I never really understood the game until I saw Cruyff's Barcelona play. The first time that happened it opened up a new world to me. I began to understand that football was a collective thing, and that association between players meant you could keep the ball the whole game.

Watching soccer is my main hobby, really. I'm no tactician or coach, but I enjoy watching the free flow of it, the different styles, and the histories behind clubs. Like Barcelona vs. Madrid - it's not just a soccer game; it's a geopolitical struggle. There are great storylines and no commercials.

People might talk more about Real Madrid and Barcelona than about Atletico, but what matters to me is what happens on the pitch. We compete with them year after year. I am not interested about the club's reputation.

I was never exposed to art school. I grew up in an artist's studio. I was exposed a lot of studio time between of my father and a great painter I studied with in Barcelona. That was my art school, as Europe was.

If you want to keep up with the changes, then you have to watch as much football as you can. Live is the best way but also on television. All the best teams: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and now City. What are they doing? If possible, go and see them training. You can always learn.

Maybe one small regret is that I never got to play with Paul Scholes - but I was never going to leave Barcelona and he was never going to leave Manchester United.

I was getting ready to take a free-kick in a game between Brazil and Argentina. Suddenly, I saw Messi behind me getting closer bit by bit, and he says 'are we going to Barcelona or not?' I said, 'if you want to bring me there, you can. I'll go.'

When Pep was at Barcelona, I was so young, 16 or 17 years old. I went to training a lot, and Pep Guardiola told me a lot of things, but I didn't stay in the first team. He is an amazing coach, and if he comes to the Premier League, I think he will win a lot of titles.

Apart from Arsenal and Barcelona, I don't see myself playing anywhere else. I will definitely be going back (to Arsenal) whenever I have time to watch games and to see the guys… and if there is one place to go back to (to play), it is Arsenal for sure.

I want to concentrate on winning things with Barcelona and Argentina. Then if people want to say nice things about me when I have retired, great. Right now, I need to concentrate on being part of a team - not just on me.

As I'm growing up, going into holding midfield, I'm watching Busquets quite a lot for Barcelona. The way he controls the game, his reading of it, technically, defensively - everything about him cuts him out above the rest. I'm really enjoying watching him.

I proved myself in Barcelona, and after I proved myself in Germany, I wanted to prove myself in England.

I would like Ajax to be people's favourite second team. Like in Spain, if you are a Real Madrid fan, then you can't be a Barcelona supporter. It's the same in Italy. But you can be an Ajax fan.

To me, doing the Olympics in 1992 in Barcelona for NBC, just seeing the Dream Team take the floor, was a thrill for me. I dont think there was another team in any sport with that high level of athletes playing together.

My friends back in Barcelona called me by that name (Picasso). It was stranger, more resonant, than "Ruiz." And those are probably the reasons I adopted it. Do you know what appealed to me about that name? Well, it was undoubtedly the double s, which is fairly unusual in Spain.

I can remember certain Manchester United defeats the way most people remember family bereavements or great political events. The four-nil drubbing by Barcelona, the failure to score against West Ham, the New Year's Day calamity at home to Spurs, the mauling by Middlesborough.

I really love the Olympics: Daley Thompson's back-flip, Derek Redmond's father helping him finish the 400m after his hamstring snapped at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson, Sir Steve Redgrave - childhood memories are flooded with these moments and idols.

My inbox and doormat are full with emails and letters from people who want me to endorse their Higgs board game or to inaugurate the walkway of their new office atrium. There's even a microbrewery in Barcelona which wants to know what my favourite beer is so they can brew a similar one in my honour. It is quite mad.

The best player I ever played with is probably Cesc Fabregas. I only got to play with him for a year before he went back to Barcelona, but I learned so much from him - the way he knew what he was going to do with the ball before he got it and his passing - and he scored goals.

I was captain in Atletico at 19, playing in the same team as Demetrio Albertini, who won three Champions Leagues, and Sergi Barjuan from Barcelona, who had won everything, and they were 32, 33. I was a kid as captain, so I wasn't the real captain, just a kid learning from them.

Red Bull is committed to providing not only quality domestic soccer, but also quality international soccer. You can't get much better than Barcelona. Our entire organization is excited about the opportunity to play one of the premier teams in the world.

I never wanted to or expected to make a film outside of New York. New York became very, very expensive. The same $18 million spent in Barcelona or Rome goes much further there.

Leo [Messi] is the best player of all time - better than Pele, Maradona or Cruyff. There have been some great teams in history - Pele's Brazil, Cruyff's Ajax, Sacchi's Milan - but in the past 20 years this Barcelona team is the best.

The first couple days I didn't realize it that much, but when I look back, I'm just like, 'Wow, I play for Barcelona!' Because everything went so fast the first couple days.

At Barcelona, I was exposed to talent. You had Ronaldinho, who was a marvel to watch. Deco is skilful and talented. Then there are players like Xavi, a good and hardworking man who gave his all. Iniesta is another. Then the name of Messi will come up in that list.

Slow travel now rivals the fly-to-Barcelona-for-lunch culture. Advocates savour the journey, travelling by train or boat or bicycle, or even on foot, rather than crammed into an airplane. They take time to plug into the local culture instead of racing through a list of tourist traps.

Playing for Pep has certainly lived up to the expectations. I knew him from the Bundesliga and saw him coaching Barcelona when everyone saw an excellent manager who is able to get players to improve. He is a great personality and a very nice guy.

Chicago is constantly auditioning for the world, determined that one day, on the streets of Barcelona, in Berlin's cabarets, in the coffee shops of Istanbul, people will know and love us in our multidimensional glory, dream of us the way they dream of San Francisco and New York.