I have played against, but not with, Zinedine Zidane and would liked to have played with him.
— Xabi Alonso
Managing Liverpool? Yes, for sure, I have dreamt of that, but first I have to prove myself and prepare.
That is probably the biggest issue about the English game. You need to be a great player and great at striking the ball, of course, but it's also about your head and being able to understand the game, especially for a midfielder.
I would never have dreamed to have had such a nice career as this. I like football, and this is like a nice football journey.
I still feel I have a special connection with Liverpool fans.
It is difficult to copy Real Madrid, as not every team has those players who can run with such explosion, like Ronaldo.
I've said a few times the Bundesliga is closer to the Premier League than the Liga.
I don't think I will stop learning about football. There are certain parts we will never understand, like what happens in the brain of a player or makes a team fear.
Bayern is a big club and a big brand, but on a daily basis, it's a family club. You get to know the physios, the kit man, the chefs. It's also a club that's very close to the supporters. That proximity to the fans makes it special. That was surprising. In Liverpool and Madrid, there's more distance.
At the end, when you play, you want to win.
If you have control of the midfield, you have control of the game, and you have more chances to win.
Passion isn't something you work on. It's more important to construct a good team, to know how you are going to play, how to read the match. You have to truly understand the game.
Writing is not my thing; playing football is my thing.
You always want to feel important at wherever you are at.
My family have absolutely no problem about me playing for Real Madrid. They have become Real Madrid fans.
So many times, football is really unfair.
Of course Zidane has surprised me as a coach. I didn't know how he would do.
I've still got Paul Scholes' shirt at home, which I swapped with him once. When I was at Liverpool, he was one of the players I liked most.
That's one thing that I've always wanted: to make my own decisions and not to be pushed. That has happened in my career, and I wanted to leave football, not football to leave me. I wanted to enjoy it as much as I could and to leave it a little bit earlier than too late.
I have been lucky enough to be at great clubs, from my hometown club to Liverpool to Real Madrid to Bayern Munich.
I've been lucky, but I have earned that luck.
Matches in England are special.
The only thing I regret is not winning the Premier League with Liverpool. I'll never know how that feels and experience the reaction of the city, as I did after Istanbul. It hurts because I know the people want the league title more than anything.
The Bundesliga is much quicker; it's more physical than the Liga, which is more technical.
I am still as slow as I was when I was 20.
Munich is a very good city to live in. The life quality is superb.
I know what my strengths and weaknesses are on the pitch. My duty is to be risk averse.
If you win the midfield, you probably win the game. But that doesn't mean the players in the midfield are the ones alone who determine that, because now we have strikers who drop into midfield and defenders who move up into the midfield. It is the area you must dominate.
Passion? Of course it's necessary, but it's more important to have footballing foundations, certainly, when developing players.
Writing is not easy, but having an opinion is!
It is a fact for any footballer - you can be really happy, but if the club don't want you, you have to accept it.
Being a manager is so different to being a footballer. It's a very difficult job, but, of course, it's very exciting as well.
I'm incredibly proud and happy to play for FC Bayern and to be a part of this family.
Cristiano's numbers are amazing, indisputable.
If I decide somewhere along the way to take my chances as a manager, my link, my commitment, my passion with Liverpool is there.
I don't want to just play well; I want the players around me to play better, and that's when I feel that I have done my job.
I've played with great players and worked with great managers; I've learned a lot from all of them.
I stay in contact with friends I have in Liverpool. It's not a normal club; it's so special and very important to me.
If you go out and play your own way, anything can happen. You might win.
Neuer is by far the best keeper I've played with and is also outstanding outfield.
To be fighting at European level, you need players who know how to play in the big games.
The grass, the sound of the ball, the jokes with my teammates - that's what I will miss most. That is what fulfills you most on a daily basis.
They value different things in every country. In England, it's very physical. You tackle, you shoot. I love watching it. In Spain, it's different. Pass the ball, move, find the space.
My game is not to have one great action. My game is to be consistent throughout: to bring the ball in the best and quickest possible way for the best players to make the last action.
I don't think tackling is a quality. It is a recurso, something you have to resort to, not a characteristic of your game.
Growing doesn't mean renouncing your history.
There are not many better clubs to play football for than Liverpool.
Everyone should know my quality and what I bring to the team.
I grew up a lot as a professional and as a person in Liverpool, and I have very strong links to the club and the city.
I wanted to end my career still at the highest level, and Bayern is the highest level.
