A biography for Marco van Bastenhasn’t been written yet.
“Some players have 18 years in football. But some players are injured before they start. When I thought like that I said: 'If I compare with that I have been very lucky. At least I had 10 years of a beautiful experience that changed my life for ever.'”
“Scoring can be simply a matter of confidence. Sometimes it happens easily.”
“Football should be tense, fair and attractive.”
“In England there's a lot of money to create a great team like Barcelona.”
“When you accept the captaincy, you accept the responsibilities that come with it.”
“I try my best to do what's best for the team.”
“We all love this sport. That's why I will work hard to develop football technically in the way that our sport will give to the fans and the players always emotions and joy.”
“Leonardo left Milan on bad terms, but I did not.”
“Manchester United is of course a big club.”
“Premier League clubs have a lot of money, that's why they're strong and have a lot of good players.”
“Rooney is the man.”
“We have to be careful with time-wasting, the behaviour of the players. There are a lot now who are complaining during the game. We have to think about only the captain able to talk to the referee, not everybody, because we're losing a lot of time.”
“All the pain I had, it was not worth it. My ankle created so many problems, it affected my day-to-day living. But at that time football was my whole life. Now I am older, I have had a life without football. You can still have a good life - there is more than football.”
“The spectators want to see action, goals, tackles.”
“I have worked with Johan Cruyff, with Rinus Michels, with Arrigo Sacchi and with Fabio Capello.”
“When you are a good player you want to play every week.”
“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.”
“Messi is the best player in the world. If he wins a World Cup, he will be the best player ever.”
“They are not the same - Xavi is more the man of passing and Iniesta can dribble more - but they have great vision, they are important to the defence and the attack.”
“The friendlies are an opportunity to look at different players and tactics.”