I have total faith in my abilities, total faith in what I can do on the pitch, and I just have to focus on that, on my game, and help the team be successful, and I have no worries.
— Daniel Sturridge
I can only show these people what I'm capable of when God allows me to be on the pitch.
It's not easy anywhere in the world for a young player to get opportunities at a big club.
Grooming in football is quite big. I'm somebody that brings my Boss Bottled Unlimited to training or in my washbag, and I've put a few of my teammates onto that.
Things have evolved, and footballers pay a lot more attention to how they dress and how they groom themselves because of social media. So they'll be on Instagram or Twitter, and I think it's one of those things - you're in the public eye more, probably, than playing football on television, and your lifestyle at home is broadcast.
Going away to West Brom, I learned, too. You learn things about football. You learn about yourself. You get to assess the situation from the outside, looking in.
I watch stuff over five times. I'll watch the same person over five, 10 times.
They wanted to play me central midfield when I was at Aston Villa, so that's why we left. Things were going good at Coventry, but then scouts from Manchester United and different clubs around England were watching me, and I don't think Coventry liked that.
As a footballer, you're stuck in a uniform - either in team kit or a team suit. I don't really get to show my personality in my job, so style is a chance to show people part of me they don't often see.
I loved drama class at school. I never took it seriously, as I was playing football. But maybe when I retire, I'll have a dabble.
Some players respond to shouting; some don't. Everyone is different, and that is one of a manager's strengths to understand that some don't respond to that.
I watch the goals to get me in the mood and to give myself a vision of how I want the game to go.
For me, that was a defining moment in my career, being at Chelsea, going through what has made me become a man in terms of my career. Even playing on the right wing helped my right foot, making me use it more, making me improve.
I'm an open book. I speak to people all the time and generally have a smile on my face. I'm true to who I am, so you can never always smile and be happy.
My dad was a professional footballer before I was alive. When I was growing up, he was the one who coached and mentored me and helped me to become what I am today. Without his coaching and without his insight and the days and the hours that he put in with me, I wouldn't be the player that I am today.
I grew up in Hockley, Birmingham. It was an environment I'll never forget in terms of playing football on local pitches, kicking a ball around in the front garden and all over the house. It was a positive place to live, and somewhere, that gave me the right grounding for where I am today.
I think it's important to play. I don't think the manager needs to give you a confidence booster and say, 'You're my main man; you're the best.' Everyone wants to play.
I'd be the best player on the day because I believe in myself and my abilities.
I treat everyone with the same respect they treat me with. Just because I earn more money doesn't make me more special than them or give me the right to talk to them in a certain manner.
At Chelsea, there's more focus on team shape, a lot of work on tactics.
I do believe a haircut makes you play better - I've experienced that before. I think it's confidence, it's routine, and it can also be superstition. Just like if you do your hair, it's not quite done right, and you have a bad day, you're not going to do that again the next day.
I feel like, in football, you always have to prove yourself as well. The past is in the past. Last season was last season.
Inzaghi was one that I really liked to watch because he was completely different to how I played, but he gave me something I didn't have and actually helped me out a lot. Probably a lot of the goals I score now have come from him.
I watch all my goals before every game on the coach.
My dad's view about coaching was that you have to express yourself. When I was young at academies, I wasn't allowed to do that.
With grooming, less is more. I like to smell good, so will use a fragrance like Boss Bottled. I don't overdo it, but I moisturise daily, too.
There is an expectation that if you do sport, any sport, you should never have a life outside that. People expect you to just train, play, train. But that's not me.
When Liverpool came in, it was one of those situations that I just wanted to get up the M6 as quick as possible, sign on the dotted line, and get to work.
In the past, I'd felt I didn't want to try something because I might get shot down for it. I'd tried it with England, and the goalkeeper - I think it was against Poland - saved it. This time, it came off.
I have always been confident in my abilities, always had my faith in God, always expressed myself, but when you are a young player, sometimes you get misunderstood.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions, and I feel like everyone judges people: regardless of whether they know someone or not, they have an opinion based on the persona of the person. I guess you can only have a real opinion of who they are as a person once you meet someone.
My family prayed a lot, but we didn't really go to church. On Sunday, my mum and dad used to always tell me to read the Bible. That was important for me growing up, and I still do that every morning. It's something that is part of my routine, and I do it every day, whether it's a normal game or a big one.
There is always something new. But to be honest, if I was to score a goal in a World Cup, I don't know what I would do.
When you've got money to spend, it's very easy to buy someone worth £50m rather than say, 'I'm going to play this 20-year-old English player.' It's easier to buy someone when you have the money to do it. But at the same time, if you give somebody an opportunity, you never know. You can only roll the dice and see how they perform.
People will want to say this or that about you, but take it with a pinch of salt.
Football's no different from any other workplace. If you're not doing the job you think you're capable of, it's frustrating. And I'm aiming for the stars. I'm not content with being in the shadows.
My job is to go on the pitch and put my best foot forward.
I like to feel comfortable in what I'm wearing, so I do wear a lot of sportswear. Not football training stuff, but mostly casual tracksuits and T-shirts.
When you're on the inside, there's no other perspective but what you see on the inside. When you're on the outside, you get to look at things a little differently: how you can help, how you can fit in, how you can do certain things differently.
I remember when I was at Chelsea, and Ancellotti used to say, 'Watch a DVD of Inzaghi' - movement in terms of runs in behind and what makes strikers score goals.
People think I got loads of money at City and then left for Chelsea to chase more money. I didn't get that money. I moved to Chelsea because they made promises to me. They told me I would get opportunities, I would play and that they believed in me as a young player.
I'm drawn to black clothes. I say I'm inspired by the wrestler The Undertaker because there's something about wearing black that makes me feel confident and classy. It isn't to try and make me look slim!
Every man needs a good pair of jeans. It's the ultimate wardrobe staple because most of us wear them more than anything else.
I think the stereotype about footballers being badly dressed is unfair.
A lot of players are straight-faced and serious; some are the opposite. It's like that until about 10 minutes before kick-off and I am in the zone. Then there is no more joking about.
As a youngster, that's how it was: you tried to express yourself out on the pitch as much as you can. Maybe I stopped trying things when I got into the first team, but now I'm more comfortable and doing things off the cuff again.
I don't really like to pay attention too much to what is being said about me, only because the people closest to me - my parents, family, and friends - know me best. So I feel like their opinions mean more to me than anyone else's.
It's important to be courteous; it has to be. I was raised very well by my parents, so it's about being polite and courteous.
My parents were very protective of me. Hockley had some crime, so my mum didn't want me out there, and my dad was the same. I would have to be in at a certain time, as there was a lot of violence surrounding our area.
You always watch Match of the Day and think to yourself, 'I think I could've scored that chance.' But when you're young, you always want to play. For me, it's not about someone saying, 'We want you to play every game.' It's about being given the opportunity. That's more important.
