What the big names in football had to say for themselves in 2002.

COACHES

"To coach is always a pleasure, seeing the players' growth, their passion, the love for the game."

- Giovanni Trapattoni, before the World Cup

"He says he would like to go to Italy and if that's possible, I think it's fair to say that I would drive him personally."

- Leeds coach Terry Venables on Olivier Dacourt

"If you're a painter, you don't get rich until you're dead. The same happens with managers. You're never appreciated until you're gone, and then people say: 'Oh, he was OK'. Just like Picasso"

- Sir Bobby Robson, coach of Newcastle

"I loved that boy. He was a genius, an artist. But he made me tear my hair out. The pity was we saw the beauty he was capable of only so rarely. He destroyed that beauty with his drinking and his eating... he ate ice cream as an hors d'oeuvre."

- Former Lazio coach Dino Zoff on Paul Gascoigne

"No team in this division has found any consistency and dogs are eating dogs all over the place."

-Kevin Keegan, coach of Manchester City

"He's got a big heart, Shaun, it's as big as, err, as big as him, which isn't very big, but it's bigger."

-Keegan again, on Shaun Wright-Phillips

"[Jomo] Sono said that as long as he was part of the team, nobody would stick a knife in my shoulder. But Sono was given so much power that in the end I concluded the man himself was the knife I find in my shoulder!"

-Carlos Quieroz after resigning as coach of South Africa just before the World Cup

"Either they've got the ball, or you've got the ball, or no-one's got it...those principles I don't think ever change."

-Graham Taylor explains his tactics at Aston Villa

"They sacked me because I wouldn't let him [Al-Saadi Gaddafi] play. And I would never have let him play, even for a minute. As a footballer he's worthless."

-Franco Scoglio who was sacked by Libya after he refused to play Al-Saadi Gaddafi, who is the president of the Libyan Football Federation, owns the country's biggest club Al Ittihad and is the son of the country's President, Colonel Gaddafi

"We had just half a slice of bread today and there was no milk for my coffee. The hotel management said that with what they have they could feed us for three days and then things would run out."

-Sierra Leone coach Sam Obi Metzger when his team became trapped after a civil war broke out in the Ivory Coast

"Let yourselves be carried along by life."

-Big Phil Scolari stands down as Brazil coach

BOSSES

"We left our balls in the dressing room."

-Lazio Director Massimo Cragnotti explains the 5-1 derby defeat to Roma

"We are no more willing to see witch doctors on the pitch than cannibals at the concession stands."

-A CAFspokesman after Cameroon's goalkeeping coach, Thomas Nkono, had been arrested for dabbling in black magic on the eve of their African Nations Cup Semi-final

"Those are not fans, only 40 ragamuffins managed by (Juventus General manager) Moggi, people who were there for money."

-Roma chief Franco Sensi claiming that Roma ‘fans' who attacked Jonathan Zebina were sent by Juventus

"If you put all the German players, except Kahn, in a sack and hit it, you would get someone who deserved it."

-Franz Beckenbauer on Germany, before the World Cup

"It is important that people like Rudi's

hair, and they do... Compared to a lot of others Rudi has at least got a 'look'.

I regard his adherence to the grey mane as a fashionable statement."

-Karl Heinz Rumminegge on German fashion icon coach Rudi Voller

"Football has collapsed, it's out of our hands."

-Carlos Soto, president of the Chilean players union, Sifup, upon hearing ANFP president Reinaldo Sanchez failed to get to a crisis meeting during September's three-week long strike because of heavy

traffic

"We don't launder money here at Academica because ... well ... there isn't any."

-Campos Coroa, president at Portuguese club Academica defends himself against suspicion of money-laundering

"Everything at Football Club Barcelona works fine...except the football team."

-Barcelona president Joan Gaspart

"I just wish Barcelona could have played in Depor's place. [Real Madrid's] defeat makes all Barcelona fans happy."

-Gaspart again, after Real Madrid had lost the Spanish Cup final on their 100th birthday

"My good name has been cleared."

-FIFA president Sepp Blatter rejoices after a Swiss court clears him of any

PLAYERS

wrongdoing

"He (the referee) f**** us everywhere, up the arse and everything. And it hurts."

-Alaves defender Oscar Tellez

"The gaffer gave him to me and told me to teach him English, but with me not speaking any French that's a bit tough at the moment."

-Liverpool's Emile Heskey on new signing El-Hadji Diouf

"When you are a professional footballer you don't dream of playing football in Germany."

-Johan Micoud makes friends when joining Werder Bremen

"If they want to take this trophy from us, they'll have to kill us."

-San Lorenzo's Alberto Acosta after his side defeated Atletico Nacional 4-0 in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final

"I know and everybody else knows that I deserved to win the award this year, but someone comes along and scores a few goals and they give him the award. I'm bitterly disappointed."

-Ghana and Bayern Munich's Sammy Kuffour after El Hadji Diouf had been given the award for African Player of the Year

"It is crazy what people say about Senegal. Of course there is tradition in every country and that should be respected. But to say we used voodoo is madness. If we had done that we would be world champions and our players abroad would be winning every European competition!"

-Senegal's Aliou Cisse dismisses rumours of black magic once and for all

"This city's inspired me, and I want to end my career here."

-Italian international Angelo Di Livio on going down to Serie C2 with Fiorentina