My first memory of the national team is the 1982 World Cup. I remember those days at our home or at my uncle's house, with all the family and those long dinners watching the matches. But I also remember that, during the games, I went outside or onto the balcony to play.
We all have hierarchies at work - even on set, the runner would never walk up to the director and ask for a cup of coffee.
I had a lot of pressure in my career: when you play at World Cup or Champions League final, there is pressure on your shoulders.
Running fills the cup that has to pour out for others. Running feeds the soul that has a responsibility to nourish. Running sets the anchor that limits the drift of the day. Running clears the mind that has a myriad of challenges to solve. Running tends to the self so that selfishness can subside.
On Memorial Day, I was out floating on Lake Norman and came across Denny Hamlin. We struck up a conversation, and one of the first things we were talking about was how much it helped him when he started racing the Cup car and how much it helped his Nationwide program.
Nobody is offered a World Cup.
Though men determine, the gods doo dispose: and oft times many things fall out betweene the cup and the lip.
I think South Africa has shown it can host such a big event as the World Cup, so why not hold the Olympics at some point in Africa? Maybe not just in one country but in a host of countries.
I scored in a World Cup and I want that buzz again.
My saddest decision in football was leaving Paul Gascoigne out of the 1998 World Cup finals. But he wasn't fit enough and once that decision is made, as a manager and a group of players, you forget about who isn't there and focus on the job.
I don't think I am a great. I think I've done nothing. I've done nothing in soccer. I've won leagues, but I haven't won the Champions League, the World Cup, the Euro. Winning the Euro in France, that wouldn't be bad.
I'm not sure whether I've been happy. After my last book tour, I sat on my balcony with a cup of tea. I thought: 'You can't rewind the movie. I've spent more than half my life in the Middle East. There have been great moments of horror and depression and loneliness.'
Sometimes when I'm stuck, I really do need that cup of tea, or that chocolate, or a break, or a walk, but in most cases what I actually need to do is make myself keep writing until it flows again.
Drama's not safe and it's not pretty and it's not kind. People expect the basic template of television drama where there might be naughty villains, but everyone ends up having a nice cup of tea. You've got to do big moral choices and show the terrible things people do in terrible situations. Drama is failing if it doesn't do that.
When I got dropped for the World Cup, there were times I didn't want to play anymore. I didn't want to practise. I couldn't motivate myself. Then I said, 'Look what are the options?' Cricket is the only option. Whether I play happily or sadly, it's still all I have. There are not a lot of things I am good at.
I always wanted to host a show, throw whipped-cream pies. Theater is not my cup of tea.
To be captain and win a lot at Juventus, to play for 20 years, to play in the World Cup, European Cup, I think I had a good career, no?
While therefore your tears flow, let a due proportion be tears of joy. Yet take the bitter cup with both hands and sit down to your repast. You will soon learn a secret: that there is sweetness at the bottom.
If I can win a Cup race, that would pretty much show my whole career that I've been able to win in everything I've gotten into.
Canadian writers don't live in gated mansions; you can just talk to them when you see them lining up at the Second Cup.
The shot of Kapil Dev kissing the World Cup and hordes of Indian fans all over at Lord's is etched in my memory. Every Indian is proud of that victory, and every Indian player who has played the World Cup after that '83 win wants to bring the Cup home.
My stroller of choice is the Graco Classic. It's the '70s Buick of strollers, bulky with a complete absence of style. There are no good lines on the Graco. Yes, it has cup holders, like any self-respecting car or stroller does these days, but the luxuries stop there.
I have the ability, no matter what's going on in my life, to find something - my cup is always half full.
If you qualify for a World Cup and expect to get an easy group, you are in the wrong sport. It doesn't work like that.
I experienced the heat when I was playing for Madrid. If we went to places like Sevilla early on in the season it was unbearable. Usually you can feel it on pre-season tours in places like Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta. The humidity levels are unreal, but this is different, the first game of the World Cup.
I wake up around nine, drink a cup of coffee, answer some emails, and ease myself into the day.
Winning the World Cup was a dream come true after so many years of wanting something so bad. After that final whistle, I dropped to the ground on my knees and got emotional.
It was my proudest moment as a manager when England drew 0-0 with Italy in Rome to qualify for the World Cup finals. Fifteen years later, the stakes are equally high for both countries as they go head-to-head for a semi-final place at the European Championship.
I eye 'Modern Love' warily between that second and third cup of coffee on Sunday mornings, calculating how much of a push I need to get through the day's unhurriedly earnest saga of heartbreak and recovery.
The FA Cup for all the fans does mean something special.
Winning the Stanley Cup in '99 was a dream come true. I'll never forget it.
It was never important for a wedding to be about anything other than me and my partner. A big celebration was never my cup of tea.
The Baja is a survival race, and there is no break, but you're not up on the wheel all day in the Baja like you are in Winston Cup or at Indy.
I kind of had to convince myself when I was playing for the Washington Freedom that this was the highest level that I'm going to reach. 'I'm going to be a professional player, and I'm going to try and be the best one I can be, but it's maybe just not in my cards to be an international player. I won't play in a World Cup.' That was hard for me.
'Whatever it takes' is my opinion of method acting and, indeed, any other kind of acting. Look at Brando and De Niro. But it's not my cup of tea.
I like the competition that Nextel Cup gives us. The schedule is difficult. But this is something I want to do for sure.
