IAN COLE’s weekly round-up of journalism and sports quotes includes the Epsom Derby, the French Open tennis, the Madrid triathlon and Atlantic City boxing. Plus dark football deeds in Zurich
“It’s a bit like being knocked out in the first round at Wimbledon. But nobody has died and you just have to pick up the pieces” Kieren Fallon, banned by the High Court from riding Recital in the Derby, after breaking a promise to ride Native Khan in the race.
“At the Australian Open, when people thought me and Rafa were done, I told them to wait six months. Now the talk is different. I feel really good physically and the priority is to win Wimbledon” Roger Federer, at 29, looks back to his best despite losing to Rafa Nadal in the French Open final.
“I normally look forward to seeing my girlfriend and the dogs, but I’ll have to wait a few days for that. The peace and quiet might be a good thing. People will think I have a great chance at Wimbledon and you might think that adds pressure, but I can tell you it’s a much better position to be in than after losing in Australia at the start of the year” Andy Murray after losing to Nadal in the semi-final of the French Open.
“Like it or not, the world of football administration and management is one of backstabbing, double dealing, shafting, false smiles and empty promises” Andy Dunn, News of the World columnist, on another bleak week for football.
“There is no bad feeling with any of the associations that did not vote for me. I am the president of FIFA with 186 votes. I’m proud. Don’t worry about the English” Sepp Blatter, re-elected unopposed.
“There are matters of principle here. Somebody needed to speak out. Sometimes in life you have to take a jump, even if you aren’t quite sure how solid the ground is beneath you” David Bernstein, the FA chairman, fails in an attempt to get FIFA’s one-horse presidential election postponed.
“’Allegations’. What a beautiful English word. Someone stands up, says a few things…without a shred of truth” Costakis Koutsokoumnis of Cyprus doesn’t support the FA.
“England is always complaining. We always have attacks from England which are mostly lies, with the support of journalism which is more busy lying than telling the truth. With the English, I said: ‘If you give back the Falkland Islands, which belong to us, you will get my vote’. They became sad and left” Julio Grondona of Argentina is not a fan either.
“Every time we played Manchester United we were always scared of Paul Scholes. His vision, the way he sees the game, his goals ratio…his mental strength makes him a genuine competitor” Thierry Henry recalls epic battles for Arsenal against the United player, now retired.
“Look, when you are not fresh it is difficult…the movement of the ball. But when you are fresh the ball moves quickly without problems. One touch, two touch maximum. Today was a problem. We spend a lot of time to win back the ball. This game, it was difficult” Fabio Capello after England’s lacklustre performance in the 2-2 draw against Switzerland.
“Tiredness is not an excuse. We should have won. The date of the finals is not going to change so we have to deal with it” John Terry refuses to make fatigue an excuse.
“I have played 60 games this season but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. At the end I was a bit tired but for the first 70 minutes I was fine” Jack Wilshere is honest enough, too.
“We don’t get tired. We’ve got what you call youthful enthusiasm. If you’re mentally fresh you’ll convince your body to do anything” Stuart Pearce, manager of England under-21s, heads to the European championships.
“I have no regrets about my transfer request. It was a situation some people on the board created. They promised something for six months and didn’t deliver. I will never speak to these people again. Never. I have principles. I deal direct with Sheikh Mansour, no one else” Carlos Tevez proving that, when it comes to Manchester City, one man can be bigger than the club.
“This guy should be a TV superstar in Britain. That he isn’t so far means something is very wrong over there. I love this guy. He has a huge heart and granite jaw and is entertaining. What more does his country want?” Lou D’Bella, promoter of the Atlantic City fight in which Britain’s WBC super-middleweight champion Carl Froch beat Jamaica’s Glen Johnson.
“It’s been a while coming and if it was going to happen it might as well be in Madrid. All we needed was a bit of luck and a good day for both of us and it’s happened” Alistair Brownlee on winning the Madrid stage of triathlon’s ITU world championship just a stride ahead of brother Jonathan.
UPCOMING SJA DATES
Mon Sep 12: SJA Autumn Golf Day, Muswell Hill GC. Click here for more details and to book yourself in for the day.
Wed Dec 7: SJA 2011 British Sports Awards – Booking now open. For more details, click here.
All details subject to alteration. Keep checking sportsjournalists.co.uk for updates