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Growing up as a kid my father was British and a soccer player. His idol was a guy that passed the ball a lot, Stanley Matthews. Our family thought if you could be unselfish your teammates would always like you.

I started Rooney in high school. These were guys I went to high school with and guys I knew from L.A.

There are good players, there are great players, and there are those few at the pinnacle - the Peles, Cruyffs and Maradonas.

When I first joined the team, I was playing with the likes of Mia Hamm, Shannon MacMillan, Tiffeny Milbrett - all those big-time players. It was very intimidating. I had some of these players' posters on my wall growing up, and now I was able to play with them.

I knew Manuel Pellegrini from my time in Spain. I'd only heard good things about him, that he was someone who instilled the confidence in his players to go out and play good, attacking football.

I come from a family where soccer has always been very present. My uncles, my father and my brother were all players.

My heroes were always soccer players.

When I went to Juventus, I was young, but in training, I had legends like Fabio Cannavaro and Lilian Thuram marking me. I had to work hard to get my respect.

Playing in Milan for me meant being able to play alongside players who were idols to me as a kid. Playing alongside David Beckham - his long passes are perfect for me.