100+ Soccer Inspirational Quotes to Motivate Every Player and Fan

"Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing."

- Pele

"Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do."

- Pele

"Hard work will always overcome natural talent when natural talent does not work hard enough."

- Sir Alex Ferguson

"I start early and I stay late, day after day, year after year, it took me 17 years and 114 days to become an overnight success."

- Lionel Messi

"Believe in yourself and don’t be afraid of making mistakes, because mistakes are part of your growth. Mistakes don’t mean you’re not good enough. It means you’re evolving. You will become the best version of yourself."

- Sarina Wiegman

"Failure happens all the time. It happens every day in practice. What makes you better is how you react to it."

- Mia Hamm

"You won’t get far if you don’t love the game."

- Sophia Smith

"You win by effort, by commitment, by ambition, by quality, by expressing yourself individually but in the team context."

- José Mourinho

"I found people that were willing to push me. I was like, ‘these are my goals. I need you to get me there.’ I don’t need any excuses. I won’t make any excuses. I’m over making excuses."

- Julie Ertz

"The work of a team should always embrace a great player but the great player must always work."

- Sir Alex Ferguson

"A team is not made up of isolated individuals. Always stay in the group. This way you have the strength of the group and you have the strength of the individual."

- Diego Maradona

"No individual can win a game by himself."

- Pele

"Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."

- Vince Lombardi

"Be honest about how you approach failure. Don’t just be critical of yourself, because that can be self-serving. Approach it honestly, assess your performance, and assess the areas where you have fallen short. Correct them and move on. Don’t dwell on it. Don’t hold on to it."

- Megan Rapinoe

"I am a firm believer if I do the little things right every day–that means here, in training and the games–that angle will come. I’m not looking at it and getting overwhelmed, I’m just focusing on, ‘What am I doing right now to get better?’ And that will help prepare me for whatever is next."

- Andi Sullivan

"The reason I succeed is because I’ve never been afraid to fail."

- David Beckham

"Don't be scared to be ambitious. It's not a humiliation to have a high target and to fail. For me, the real humiliation is to have a target and not to give everything to reach it."

- Arsene Wenger

"In football [soccer], the result is an impostor. You can do things really, really well but not win. There’s something greater than the result, more lasting — a legacy."

- Xavi

"Be the best teammate you can be, be the best player you can be, and just be as supportive and encouraging for people who are playing."

- Kelley O’Hara

"Anyone can have a good day, but you have to be able to perform on a bad day."

- Emma Hayes

"You can fall down and then you must stand up. Only silly idiots stay on the floor. We will strike back, 100 percent."

- Emma Hayes

"If you want special results, you have to feel special things and do special things together. You can speak about spirit, or you can live it."

- Jürgen Klopp

"Once you bid farewell to discipline, you say goodbye to success."

- Sir Alex Ferguson

"If you think you’re perfect already, then you never will be."

- Cristiano Ronaldo

"Success doesn’t motivate me as much as integrity does. Everyone loses. I enjoy the pressure of showing up every single day, being focused, putting forth my best effort, getting the best out of my teammates, and enjoying the journey."

- Becky Sauerbrunn

"Everybody has a talent, but it's what you do with it that makes it great."

- Alex Morgan

"Talent alone is not enough. There must be hunger and determination to achieve something."

- Jürgen Klopp

"Success is not permanent and failure is not fatal."

- Sir Alex Ferguson

"Nobody has enough talent to live on talent alone. Even when you have talent, a life without work goes nowhere."

- Arsene Wenger

"I made many mistakes, but I learn(ed) from everything. I still make mistakes; I still learn from them. Nobody is perfect."

- Zlatan Ibrahimovic

"I am not a perfectionist, but I like to feel that things are done well. More important than that, I feel an endless need to learn, to improve, to evolve, not only to please the coach and the fans but also to feel satisfied with myself. It is my conviction that there are no limits to learning and that it can never stop, no matter what our age."

- Cristiano Ronaldo

"Something deep in my character allows me to take the hits and get on with trying to win."

- Lionel Messi

"A champion is someone who does not settle for that day’s practice, that day’s competition, that day’s performance. They are always striving to be better. They don’t live in the past."

- Briana Scurry

"I have to keep working hard and playing well because I don’t like to be second or third. They’re the worst places to be. You would be proud, of course, because it means you’re on the way, but you want to finish first."

- Paul Pogba

"You owe it to yourself to be the best you can be."

- Christian Pulisic

"In football [soccer] as in watchmaking, talent and elegance mean nothing without rigor and precision."

- Lionel Messi

"Soccer is simple. You just need to have the right mentality, fighting in every game, in every practice, and for every ball."

- Hristo Stoichkov

"You can overcome anything if, and only if, you love something enough."

- Lionel Messi

"Keep working even when no one is watching."

- Alex Morgan

"Whatever brings you down will eventually make you stronger."

- Alex Morgan

"It’s hard to beat somebody that never gives up."

- Megan Rapinoe

"I’ve never scored a goal in my life without getting a pass from someone else."

- Abby Wambach

"I’ve never tried to hide the fact that it is my intention to become the best."

- Cristiano Ronaldo

"You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it."

- Lionel Messi

"Talent without working hard is nothing."

- Cristiano Ronaldo

"The secret is to believe in your dreams; in your potential that you can be like your star, keep searching, keep believing and don’t lose faith in yourself."

- Neymar

"The only victory that counts is the one over yourself."

- Lionel Messi

"I don’t believe in luck, I only believe in hard work."

- Zlatan Ibrahimovic

"When you win, you don't get carried away. But if you go step by step, with confidence, you can go far."

- Diego Maradona

"I always want to become better. If never being satisfied is a problem, then I have it. At least it's a good problem."

- Zlatan Ibrahimovic

"Most of us are in this more than just for playing soccer. We're in it for the bigger goal - to move it along for the next generation."

- Landon Donovan

"Many people say I’m the best women’s soccer player in the world. I don’t think so. And because of that, someday I just might be."

- Mia Hamm

"Keep dreaming, even when people laugh at your dreams or tell you that they are impossible to achieve. Keep believing in yourself."

- Tobin Heath

"Good soccer players need not be titans sculpted by Michelangelo. In soccer, your ability is much more important than shape, and in many cases, skill is the art of turning limitations into virtues."

- Eduardo Galeano

"For sports players who want to be champions, the mind can be as important, if not more important, than any other part of the body."

- Gary Neville

"I don’t believe skill was, or ever will be, the result of coaches. It is a result of a love affair between the child and the ball."

- Ron Greenwood

"To win, you have to score one more goal than your opponent."

- Johan Cruyff

"Embrace the opportunity, no matter what it is. Look at everything in a positive light."

- Julie Ertz

"Injuries can never be used as excuses."

- Victor Valdes

"I learned all about life with a ball at my feet"

- Ronaldinho

"I don’t have time for hobbies. At the end of the day, I treat my job as a hobby. It’s something I love doing."

- David Beckham

"I know what I want. I know what my vision is. If we work well, we know what our plan is, we know what the expectations are."

- Sarina Wiegman

"Football is not just a game; it’s an art form. You have to be creative, think outside the box, and always be one step ahead of your opponent."

- Ronaldinho

"The reason I success is because I’ve never been afraid to fail."

- David Beckham

"For me, it’s about controlling what I can control. I can’t control where I’m going to be put on the pitch. I can only control my effort and my ability to embrace anything thrown at me."

- Crystal Dunn

"While I don’t know if I exist in the land of the elite, I’m definitely on the battlefield with relentlessness."

- Christen Press

"The best way to come together as a group is to kind of create that bubble, eliminate all the outside noise. We have all those expectations for ourselves. We don’t need any outside things. We have high standards. We want to win."

- Alyssa Naeher

"Maintain that mountain to go from A to B and to keep your focus on that target without any weakening. That is called tenacity; stamina in your motivation."

- Arsene Wenger

"If I can inspire only one person, I think I’ve done my job."

- Lynn Williams

"It’s not about how big you are, it’s all about how big you play."

- Mallory Swanson

"In football, the worst things are excuses. Excuses mean you cannot grow or move forward."

- Pep Guardiola

"The fear of losing is sometimes greater than the will to win."

- Emma Hayes

"When you look at people who are successful, you will find that they aren’t the people who are motivated but have consistency in their motivation."

- Arsene Wenger

"I think soccer is a great game because it brings people together. It doesn’t matter where you come from or what language you speak, soccer unites everyone."

- Marco van Basten

"I am not afraid to lose my job, and when you’re not afraid, you don’t feel any pressures. You are not too worried. You can express yourself in a different way. It makes you better, I think."

- José Mourinho

"No one likes to be criticized. Few people get better with criticism, most respond to encouragement instead. For a player—for any human being—there is nothing better than hearing “well done.”"

- Sir Alex Ferguson

"Football is simple. But nothing is more difficult than playing simple football."

- Johan Cruyff

"I tell the players that the bus is moving. This club has to progress. And the bus wouldn't wait for them. I tell them to get on board."

- Sir Alex Ferguson

"Surround yourself with good people. Surround yourself with positivity and people who are going to challenge you to make you better. If you just kind of let yourself stay alone and be by yourself, the negative, it is just not going to help you. You can control two things, your work ethic and your attitude about anything."

- Ali Krieger

"A champion is someone who does not settle for that day's practice, that day's competition, that day's performance. They are always striving to be better. They don't live in the past."

- Briana Scurry

"The challenge is to stay cool enough to handle the pressure in the moment so that you can succeed in the future."

- Emma Hayes

"That is the plan: just try. If we can do it, wonderful. If not, then fail in the most beautiful way."

- Emma Hayes

"I'm living a dream I never want to wake up from."

- Cristiano Ronaldo

"Geese always support each other. When a goose gets injured two birds always accompany it down to the ground. Just as geese do, we must support each other."

- Emma Hayes

"All good athletes make mistakes; the great ones learn to make that mistake only once."

- Raul Lopez

"The key to success in football is to be in the right place at the right time."

- Teddy Sheringham

"Honestly, I’ve just been trying to improve all parts of my game, a statistic is just a statistic."

- Lindsey Horan

"Look, I'm a coach, I'm not Harry Potter. He is magical, but in reality, there is no magic. Magic is fiction and football is real."

- José Mourinho

"No one is bigger than the team, you win together, and you can certainly lose together."

- Julie Ertz

"Football is an art like dancing is an art, but only when it's well done does it become an art."

- Arsene Wenger

"The best trophies are the ones we win in our heads."

- Jürgen Klopp

"Creating something new is the difficult part. To make it and build it and get everyone to follow? Amazing."

- Jürgen Klopp

"As much as trophies matter, leaving something that's built to last is the most important thing to me."

- Emma Hayes

"Women's football in its right is something to celebrate and the quality and the achievement of all the females I represent, it is an insult to them that we talk about women's football being a step down."

- Emma Hayes

"We all want to play great music all the time, but if that is not possible, you have to hit as many right notes as you can."

- José Mourinho

"Inclusivity is not something that can be achieved simply by saying the right things. It requires meaningful actions and a strong commitment to making it a reality."

- Sarina Wiegman

"I strongly believe in the power of diversity and inclusion in teams. That is why I will be committing myself fully to creating an environment in which all top athletes and staff have the same opportunities, regardless of their background, culture, gender identity, sexual preference and religion."

- Sarina Wiegman

"The only moment of possible happiness is the present. The past gives regrets. And future uncertainties."

- Arsene Wenger

"Substitution is a true test of strength. The real performance of a player is seen not only during playing time but also and more especially when the player is substituted."

- Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

"Young players need freedom of expression to develop as creative players. They should be encouraged to try skills without fear of failure."

- Arsene Wenger

"Before kids can play like a pro, they must enjoy playing the game like a kid."

- Steve Locker

"The most important thing for a forward is the speed of thought. Top players read the game."

- Samuel Eto’o

"Play for the name on the front of the shirt, and they will remember the name on the back."

- Tony Adams

"In football [soccer], the worst blindness is only seeing the ball."

- Nelson Falcão Rodrigues

"Life is full of regrets, but it doesn't pay to look back."

- Zinedine Zidane

"I never want to be perceived as ungrateful or stuck-up, that’s not who I am."

- Trinity Rodman

"I'm like everyone, I would hope for a fair and equal society and making great strides to create opportunities for women in the men's game."

- Emma Hayes

"Football is a universal language. It brings people together. irrespective of their nationalities, cultures or beliefs."

- George Weah

"People often wonder if a female coach can lead a men’s team. This question does a disservice to women."

- Sarina Wiegman

"It’s not important how we play. If you have a Ferrari and I have a small car, to beat you in a race I have to break your wheel or put sugar in your tank."

- José Mourinho

"Football is a part of I. When I play, the world wakes up around me."

- Bob Marley

"The moral of the story is not to listen to those who tell you not to play the violin but stick to the tambourine."

- José Mourinho

"I am a female coach in an industry where women have always been treated like small men."

- Emma Hayes

"must support each other."

- Emma Hayes

"Young players are a little bit like melons. Only when you open and taste the melon are you 100 per cent sure that the melon is good."

- José Mourinho

"I don’t celebrate because I’m only doing my job. When a postman delivers letters, does he celebrate?"

- Mario Balotelli

"Apparently, when you head a football, you lose brain cells, but it doesn’t bother me. I’m a horse. No one’s proved it yet have they?"

- David May

"He cannot kick with his left foot, he cannot head a ball, he cannot tackle, and he doesn’t score many goals. Apart from that he’s alright."

- George Best on David Beckham

"I couldn't settle in Italy; it was like living in a foreign country."

- Ian Rush

"I was surprised, but I always say nothing surprises me in football."

- Les Ferdinand

"Swedish style? No. Yugoslavian style? Of course not. It has to be Zlatan-style."

- Zlatan Ibrahimovic

"I’ve had 14 bookings this season; eight of which were my fault, but seven of which were disputable."

- Paul Gascoigne

"The World Cup is a truly international event."

- John Motson

"We didn’t underestimate them, but they were a lot better than we thought."

- Bobby Robson

"We must have had 99% of the game. It was the other three percent that cost us the match."

- Ruud Gullit

"If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again."

- Terry Venables

"Their football, Arsenal, is on another level, but Spurs are fighting like beavers."

- Chris Kamara

"You have to fight through some bad days to earn the best days of your life."

- Unknown

"Take your victories, whatever they might be, cherish them, use them, but don’t settle for them."

"When people succeed, it is because of hard work. Luck has nothing to do with success."

"Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that."

"Football is the ballet of the masses."