10 Famous World Cup Quotes: Sayings Ahead of 2014 FIFA World Cup

10 Famous World Cup Quotes: Sayings Ahead of 2014 FIFA World Cup
Zachary Stieber
6/12/2014
Updated:
7/18/2015

The World Cup is set to start on Thursday, June 12 and run through Sunday, July 13.

The huge international event will feature 32 teams and 64 games in the host country of Brazil, which kicks off the action against Croatia.

Favorites to win include Portugal, Spain, and Germany.

Check out some of the best quotes about the football tournament below.

“The World Cup experience is more than just the game of soccer. It’s an event. And it will fly by faster than you think. It will end and you‘ll be saying, ’Wow, it’s over already?' You have to remember to take it all in and enjoy it.” -- Cobi Jones

“The World Cup is a very important way to measure the good players, and the great ones. It is a test of a great player.” -- Pele

“You have to show up in the World Cup, and in the World Cup anything can happen.” -- Lionel Messi

“The World Cup is not just a great global sporting event, it is also inscribed with much deeper cultural and political importance.” -- Martin Jacques

“Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.” -- Gary Lineker

“Brazil goes into every World Cup expecting to win - so when it is in Brazil it is expected even more. You can’t understand what the World Cup means to our country.” -- Ronaldinho

“Soccer is a great game, and the rich variety of styles and passions that come with being truly global makes the World Cup a nonpareil event in the universe of competitive sport.” -- Serge Schmemann

“We lost because we didn’t win.” -- Ronaldo

“There’s nothing quite like a World Cup.” -- Michael Owen

“The boy can do anything, but to be the star of the World Cup you have got to get to the final and win it!” -- Alan Hansen