85 Most Inspirational Soccer Quotes For All Lovers Of The Beautiful Game

Soccer or football is a popular game that is played all over the world.

Often cited as one of the greatest games on the planet, this game is played by nearly 250 countries. The game is said to have originated in China during 206 BCE.

The game is played between two teams consisting of eleven soccer players. The game is played on a rectangular field and is officiated by a referee with the help of two linesmen and a fourth official. If you like this great game, you are bound to love these quotes!

Check out inspirational horse quotes and inspirational Marvel quotes too.
 

Enlisted below are some of the most famous soccer quotes from soccer players. These include motivational soccer quotes, and inspirational soccer quotes about life.

1. "I am not a perfectionist, but I like to feel that things are done well."

- Cristiano Ronaldo.

2. "You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it."

- Lionel Messi.

3. "When you win, you don't get carried away. But if you go step by step, with confidence, you can go far."

– Diego Maradona.

4. "The secret is to believe in your dreams; in your potential that you can be like your star, keep searching, keep believing and don’t lose faith in yourself."

— Neymar.

5. "The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is looking."

- Mia Hamm.

6. "Football is the ballet of the masses."

- Dmitri Shostakovich.

7. "Most of us are in this more than just for playing soccer. We're in it for the bigger goal - to move it along for the next generation."

- Landon Donovan.

8. "I don't believe skill was, or ever will be, the result of coaches. It is a result of a love affair between the child and the ball."

- Roy Keane.

9. "The rules of soccer are very simple, basically it is this: if it moves, kick it. If it doesn't move, kick it until it does."

- Phil Abraham.

10. "I am not a man, I am Cantona."

- Eric Cantona.

11. "In football as in watchmaking, talent and elegance mean nothing without rigor and precision."

- Lionel Messi.

12. "In his life, a man can change wives, political parties or religions, but he cannot change his favourite soccer team."

- Eduardo Galeano.

13. "Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win."

- Gary Lineker.

14. "Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do."

- Pele.

15. "Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good soccer. I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: 'A pretty move, for the love of God.'"

- Eduardo Galeano.

16. "I think there are a lot of things that soccer does in the communities that transcend the soccer field."

- Brandi Chastain.

17. "That's the beauty of sport. Sometimes you laugh, sometimes you cry"

- Pep Guardiola.

18. "There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a happy and smiling child. I always help in any way I can, even if it’s just by signing an autograph. A child’s smile is worth more than all the money in the world."

- Lionel Messi.

19. "Football is a game played with arms, legs and shoulders but mostly from the neck up."

- Knute Rockne.

20. "Sport has the power to inspire and unite people. In Africa, soccer enjoys great popularity and has a particular place in the hearts of people."

- Nelson Mandela.

21. "I have to keep working hard and playing well because I don’t like to be second or third: they’re the worst places to be. You would be proud, of course, because it means you’re on the way, but you want to finish first."

- Paul Pogba.

22. "The ball is round, the game lasts ninety minutes, and everything else is just theory."

- Josef 'Sepp' Herberger.

23 "If you’re attacking, you don’t get as tired as when you’re chasing."

- Kyle Rote, Jr.

24. "I always want to become better. If never being satisfied is a problem, then I have it. At least it's a good problem."

- Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

In this category, you will find the best soccer quotes in the world. These also include best inspirational soccer quotes, inspirational soccer quotes to use before games and inspirational soccer quotes on determination.

25. "I’ve never played for a draw in my life."

- Sir Alex Ferguson.

26. "I never wanted Manchester United to be second to anybody."

- Matt Busby.

27. "I’ve never tried to hide the fact that it is my intention to become the best."

- Cristiano Ronaldo.

28. "Nobody has enough talent to live on talent alone. Even when you have talent, a life without work goes nowhere."

- Arsene Wenger.

29. "You can overcome anything, if, and only if, you love something enough."

- Lionel Messi.

30. "Every time I went away I was deceiving my mum. I'd tell her I was going to school, but I'd be out on the street playing football. I always had a ball on my feet."

- Ronaldo.

31. "Keep working even when no one is watching."

- Alex Morgan.

32. "I don't have time for hobbies. At the end of the day, I treat my job as a hobby. It's something I love doing."

- David Beckham.

33. "I have the chance to do for a living what I like the most in life, and that's playing football. I can make people happy and enjoy myself at the same time."

- Ronaldinho.

34. "Keep dreaming, even when people laugh at your dreams or tell you that they are impossible to achieve. Keep believing in yourself."

- Tobin Heath.

35. "I am constantly being asked about individuals. The only way to win is as a team. Football is not about one or two or three star players."

- Phyllis Diller.

36. "I was lucky to come from a difficult area. It teaches you not just about football but also life. There were lots of kids from different races and poor families. People had to struggle to get through the day."

- Zinedine Zidane.

37. "There is no room for criticism on the training field. For a player - and for any human being - there is nothing better than hearing ‘well done’. Those are the two best words ever invented in sports. You don’t need to use superlatives."

- Sir Alex Ferguson.

38. "Soccer is simple... you just need to have the right mentality, fighting in every game, in every practice and for every ball."

- Hristo Stoichkov.

39. "Many people say I’m the best women’s soccer player in the world. I don’t think so. And because of that, someday I just might be."

- Mia Hamm.

40. "I once cried because I had no shoes to play soccer, but one day, I met a man who had no feet."

- Zinedine Zidane.

41. "I will forgive if the players cannot get it right, but not if they do not try hard."

- Pep Guardiola.

42. "Ronaldo can do whatever he wants as a footballer. There are some things he does with the ball that make me touch my head and wonder how he did it."

- Cristiano Ronaldo.

Enlisted below are short inspirational soccer quotes, David Beckham soccer quotes, inspirational soccer quotes for girls, inspirational soccer quotes for kids, amazing inspirational soccer quotes and famous inspirational soccer quotes. You will also find inspirational soccer quotes by women and Alex Morgan inspirational soccer quotes. Here you will also find the best motivational soccer quotes.

43. "Play for the name on the front of the shirt, and they will remember the name on the back."

- Tony Adams.

44. "Anyone who sacrifices his dreams to reality is forever beaten."

- Thomas Muller.

45. "I made many mistakes, but I learnt from everything. I still make mistakes; I still learn from them. Nobody is perfect."

- Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

46. "It's not about their memory. It's about showing who we are to the world, showing we'll not be bowed by tragedy. Because how we are in the future will be founded on how we behave today."

- Jimmy Murphy after the Munich Air Tragedy in 1958.

47. "I learned all about life with a ball at my feet."

- Ronaldinho.

48. "For sportsmen or women who want to be champions, the mind can be as important, if not more important, than any other part of the body."

- Gary Neville.

49. "Becoming a footballer is only the first half of the silent prayer a kid offers up to the sky or confides to his teacher in a primary school essay. The second part is the name of the team he wants to play for."

- Andrea Pirlo.

50. "Whatever brings you down will eventually make you stronger."

- Alex Morgan.

51. "Young players need freedom of expression to develop as creative players... they should be encouraged to try skills without fear of failure."

- Arsene Wenger.

52. "To win you have to score one more goal than your opponent."

– Johan Cruyff.

53. "They wanted me to stay on for A-Levels, but football came calling - that was my real love."

- Frank Lampard.

54. "Before kids can play like a pro, they must enjoy playing the game like a kid."

- Steve Locker.

55. "Every single day I woke up and commit to myself to become a better player."

- Mia Hamm.

56. "Some people think football [soccer] is a matter of life and death. I don’t like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that."

- Bill Shankly.

57. "Lions don't recover like humans!"

- Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

58. "To have a successful team, you have to have great [soccer] players, of course – but you have to have good personalities and good people as well."

– David Beckham.

59. "Life is full of regrets, but it doesn't pay to look back."

- Zinedine Zidane.

Here are the most iconic soccer quotes from the history of soccer.

60. "Football is a simple game. You win the ball, you pass the ball, you score a goal…"

- Jimmy Murphy.

61. "Football, bloody hell!"

- Sir Alex Ferguson.

62. "Give a man a soccer ball, he plays for a moment. Teach a man to play soccer, he plays for a life time."

- Theodore Roosevelt.

63. "Mountains are there to be climbed, aren't they?"

- Ole Gunnar Solksjaer.

64. "When I go to the press conference before the game, in my mind the game has already started..."

- Jose Mourinho.

65. "Soccer is simple, but it is difficult to play simple."

- Johan Cruyff.

66. "The trouble with referees is that they know the rules, but they do not know the game."

- Bill Shankly.

67. "They'll forget all the rubbish when I've gone and they'll remember the football. If only one person thinks I'm the best player in the world, that's good enough for me."

- George Best.

68. "When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. Thank you very much."

- Eric Cantona.

69. "Failure happens all the time. It happens every day in practice. What makes you better is how you react to it."

- Mia Hamm.

70. "There is no harm in dreaming of becoming the world’s best player. It is all about trying to be the best. I will keep working hard to achieve it but it is within my capabilities."

- Cristiano Ronaldo.

71. "Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm a special one."

- Jose Mourinho.

72. "The goal was scored a little bit by the hand of God, another bit by the head of Maradona."

- Diego Maradona.

73. "Iniesta doesn't dye his hair, he doesn't wear earrings, and he hasn't got any tattoos. Maybe that makes him unattractive to the media but he is the best."

- Pep Guardiola.

74. "My private life is perfect. If your private life and your life outside football is good, then it is good on the field for you."

- David Beckham.

75. "At a young age, winning is not the most important thing... the important thing is to develop creative and skilled players with good confidence."

- Arsene Wenger.

76. "The most important thing for a forward is speed of thought. Top players read the game."

- Samuel Eto'o.

77. "Every kid around the world who plays soccer wants to be Pele. I have a great responsibility to show them not just how to be like a soccer player, but how to be like a man."

- Pele.

78. "There are many poets in football, but poets don't win many titles."

- Jose Mourinho.

79. "Some people tell me that we professional players are soccer slaves. Well, if this is slavery, give me a life sentence."

- Sir Bobby Charlton.

Soccer commentary quotes are legendary, and here are some of the finest among those.

80. "Can Manchester United score? They always score."

- Clive Tyldesley.

81. "Roma have risen from their ruins! Manolas, the Greek God in Rome! The unthinkable unfolds before our eyes! This was not meant to happen! This could not happen! This Is Happening!"

- Peter Drury.

82. "....and Solskjaer has won it! Manchester United have reached the promised land!”

- Clive Tyldesley.

83. "Rooney! It defies description! How about ‘sensational’? How about ‘superb’?"

- Martin Tyler.

84. "Goal Bafana Bafana! Goal for South Africa! Goal for all Africa!"

- Peter Drury.

85. "A smoked salmon sandwich of a football match if ever there has been one."

- Peter Drury.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for inspirational soccer quotes then why not take a look at inspirational math quotes, or [inspirational baseball quotes].