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We must look after football and to do what it is necessary to bring to the game the best ethical values and personal behaviour.

I'm not claiming that football is the nation's salvation in this area, but it's one of them, one little thing that apparently has captured the imagination of a large sector of our society. But when football can't be a relatively pure outlet, a fun thing, then it hurts itself.

Football is a great deal like life in that it teaches that work, sacrifice, perseverance, competitive drive, selflessness and respect for authority is the price that each and every one of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.

Football is like life - it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.

As football gets more globalised, it's probably more important than ever to have one or two players in your team who have grown up in the same streets or been to the same schools as the hard-core fans.

You have different sorts of people in life, so why should it be any different in football?

When you go out on a football field, you are responsible for taking care of yourself. The more rules you get, the less players truly take care of themselves.

Football (soccer) is a matter of life and death, except more important.

Football spectators appreciate a bit of loyalty, and we're seeing that less and less. There are echelons of football, as in society, where some players are clearly mercenaries. I regret in a way that somehow the local identification, the local bonding between the community and its football team has been commercialised to such an extent.

If studies come out and show that playing football is detrimental to your health for the long term, even for the short term, I think that's up to the players then to make the decision about whether they're going to play or not play.