Essam El Hadary

“I am a professional footballer and as long as I'm able to make a contribution, I'll be doing all I can to stay at the top.”

“As the captain of the team, my job involves more than just playing. I have to talk to the players and motivate them.”

“I appreciate Merriekh and their chairman Gamal El-Wali. I respect their supporters, players and technical staff.”

“I did almost everything in my footballing career.”

“We all have a loyalty to our country, we want to serve our country. It's in our nature.”

“I won 37 trophies and I enjoyed some remarkable moments, such as our win over Italy at the 2009 Confederations Cup.”

“I've got rule a that I've stuck to for many years: train as hard as you can.”

“The country comes first, then the record book.”

“Setting targets is very important in my life; I always have targets to fulfil.”

“God helped me crown my football career with a participation in the World Cup.”

“I'm used to realising all my dreams and targets through my determination and ambition.”

“Beating a record for the oldest World Cup player means that it's an achievement for my country before it's an achievement for me.”

“It won't matter who starts and who plays, the most important thing is the Egyptian national team and we will do our best.”

“We all do our best. We hope we can win.”

“When I'm sitting on the bench, I try to help the players who are out on the pitch.”

“We're all determined to do whatever it takes to honour the national team jersey.”

“I have dealt with three generations of players, each one of them was different.”

“We know football is a difficult game. Sometimes you win and lose.”

“By working hard, age is just a number.”

“Sometimes the media highlight a record for me that I did not know anything about but setting a record at a prestigious tournament like the World Cup makes me happy.”