Lothar Matthaus Quotes, a complete collection

Lothar Matthaus is a German manager and a former player. As a player, widely regarded as one of the best midfields of all time, Matthaus had the best years of his club career at Bayern Munich and also had a successful spell at Inter Milan before retiring at the age of 38 with the Bavarians. He was the captain of the Bayern Munich side which dramatically lost the famous 1999-2000 Champions League final to Manchester United.

On the International level, Matthaus was a key player for Germany national team as they won the 1980 European Championships and the 1990 World Cup. Matthaus played in 5 consecutive World Cups and is the record holder for most appearances in the history of the competition.

On the individual level, Matthaus won many top awards during his illustrated career, the most important of them was the 1991 Ballon d'Or which he won for his amazing performances in the 1990 World Cup.

At the international level, Matthaus scored 14 goals in 79 games during his 11 years career with Germany national team.  Known for his technique and goal scoring instinct, Matthaus He scored 165 goals in 720 matches during his club career. In the following article we present you with a complete collection of

Lothar Matthaus quotes.

Best Collection of Lothar Matthaus quotes

We present football fans with the Best collection of

quotes which includes his comments about his personality and career as well as his comments on other football stars.

Lothar Matthaus quotes about his personal life

Lothar Matthaus was born into a football loving family from the city of Erlangen in West Germany. Matthaus had an amazing relationship with his parents, both of whom were working at Puma's factory. Matthaus has had an eventful love life. He has been married five times and have four children. It is certainly interesting to know more about Lothar Matthaus quotes on his own childhood, personality and private life.

On His childhood and family

My wife is from Russia. I like the country, the mentality of the people.

All my family worked for Puma. My mother worked there, and my father was the guy that opened and closed up in the evening. We lived in the neighbouring building - just a couple of steps, and I would be in the Puma factory. All 300 people that worked there knew me; it was my adventure playground. I knew everything, even how to make a shoe sole.

On his hobbies and preferences

I like to travel, and I'm always ready for a new experience.

I'm a cuddler; I like harmony.

When I'm with friends, when I have time, I like to play soccer, and I think it's still my passion, still my love. I'm not crazy to do it every day, but sometimes when I see the ball, I like to kick the ball.

I like football. It's fun winning the ball from someone. It's fun shooting at goal. It's fun hitting a ball over 60 metres that arrives. It's like in golf: if you hit a ball, and it flies and flies and flies, you enjoy it.

On his personality, Beliefs and objectives

You cannot always blame others if things go wrong.

I always thought I'd be a coach, but I'm still open to everything.

If you are champions, you have to work harder than before.

I'm actually a very simple person. A very normal man.

One day I'd like to show what I can do as a coach in Germany. But I won't bend over backwards for a job in the Bundesliga and lock myself in my house for 24 hours just to win other people's approval.

I want to show people how I really am. Most people are only familiar with some of the headlines.

Competition is good for any player as long as they react the right way and use it as motivation.

Lothar Matthaus quotes about football and his playing style

Lothar Matthaus was known the most for his perceptive passing, positional sense, well-timed tackling, as well as powerful shooting. During his career, he usually played as a box-to-box midfielder, although late in his career he played as a sweeper. Matthaus was a key member of the Germany national team and Bayern Munich in their golden years in the last decades of the twentieth century. The followings are the

top quotes by Lothar Matthaus

about football and his own playing style.

On football

If you concede early against a quality team, you have to play more openly - and can get picked off.

I think football is football, politics is politics.

I'm always pretty cautious when people say that one player could single-handedly help his side to a trophy.

Bundesliga matches are always exciting - with low ticket prices, standing terraces means all matches are played before the highest average attendances of any professional football league and creates a thrilling and breathtaking atmosphere.

The start of Bundesliga season is always exciting, as it's a fresh start for all teams fighting for the title.

I have always loved football! Of course, you have sometimes difficult times with injuries, defeats, etc., but this is part of the sport.

We want to see football. If people want to see acting, they go somewhere else, not the stadium.

Footballers have to help each other out. Everybody must give his best in pursuit of common goals - not individual ones. This has been the German approach through our football history.

I always say that if you stay with a good coach, the relationship between him and his team becomes like a family: he becomes a father with his children.

Asian players have more in common with the Bundesliga than with Italian or Spanish leagues because they are wedded to the team cause, are hard-working and disciplined.

I live in Budapest and saw how the football helped the Hungarian people to be happy.

Soccer is the main sport in Mexico; it's very important for the Mexican people. It's their passion - it's their religion - and Mexican football was always one of the best in the world.

If there's one thing that fans like to see, it's a player who can run at full speed towards the goal.

Iceland won't change. No matter who they play, they're 4-4-2.

You can be the best coach in the world, but if you don't have the players, you cannot get results.

Nobody has a better product than the German Bundesliga. We have the most spectators in the stadiums. We have the best stadiums. We have the most goals. We have very good teams. We have high-level international players with big names.

When you have results, you can make a difference, and when you make a difference, you can win the Ballon d'Or.

Every good German team has strong leadership in the side.

Football is not only sunshine.

Mexico and Italy are countries where you can almost taste the atmosphere from the teeming stands when you're on the field, and that's a real motivation for a player.

Important in a big tournament is how you start. With a great match at the start, you can distance yourself from the unrest from outside. And it increases the respect among opponents.

The typical German coach wants things done one way - his way.

Normally, the coach does not like to make changes that are not necessary - because a team has to find itself.

At Wembley, everything is bigger, wider; the atmosphere is different.

When teams train now, it is about what they do with the ball and, if they lose it, how quickly they press to win it back.

As a player, you'd rather be up against Barcelona, Real Madrid, or Bayern. Big clubs. Great atmosphere. Real excitement.

On his playing style

Age is just a number when you possess real quality and a game plan.

I wouldn't want to play as left forward if I normally play right-back.

I am not a superstar, nor do I want to be remembered as one. I have always been a team player.

I was certainly no Maradona. I was a very fast player. When I saw a space, I used it. When I went past somebody, he didn't catch up with me again. I was a player who came with a run-up. What Maradona could see in a small space, I saw over long distances.

Football in Italy at the end of the '80s and beginning of '90s was the best all over the world.

Lothar Matthaus quotes on Messi and Ronaldo

In every generation, young football fans argue endlessly about who is the best player of the history of football. In our generation the debate is between

and Cristiano Ronaldo fans. Matthaus retired long before the emergence of Ronaldo and Messi. He has been active as a pundit and has praised both of them many times in his interviews. Here are

Lothar Matthaus quotes on

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

.

If Messi is on top form, then his team can win everything. It is possible to stop Messi. Teams do it when he plays for Argentina. But the Barcelona Messi is different.

When Messi gets the chance to go one against one, he is very difficult to stop on his own. He just has the knack, the ability, to do something special and crucial. This is Messi. When Messi has the ball centrally, with time, he has so many options to hurt you.

Ronaldo's transfer to Juventus is a highlight for both the football and marketing departments, the hype around Ronaldo is huge, Serie A benefits greatly from the change. Ronaldo is no longer in the best footballer age. I think he will focus on the Champions League.

My personal concern is that Ronaldo will win the award. His goal ratio is unique, he sets new records, normally the World Cup should outshine everything but, in the end, Ronaldo's goals will outshine everything. To me he is the favorite because he fascinates us every week.

Messi is only the underdog because he was injured too often and was not in his best shape at the World Cup. FIFA's experts voted him player of the tournament but that was a gift. I think he shook his head himself when he got the trophy up there after the final.

Top quotes by Lothar Matthaus about famous football figures

In this part of the article we present you with the top quotes by Lothar Matthaus about other football great stars and teams, including his comments on Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann.

On Andreas Brehme

I had very good players around me in the team, like in the German national team. Andreas Brehme was one of my best partners in the team because he had good eyes; he could always hit the best ball.

On Paul Pogba

I love Paul Pogba.

I'm not a fan of Paul Pogba. Maybe he is a talent, but I don't see him as any more than that.

When a game runs out of your hands is when you look for someone like Pogba to hold the team together and give them rhythm, but I feel he only plays for himself.

On Kylian Mbappe

I love

. He is so quick, carries the ball so fast, and can run the length of the pitch.

On Diego Simeone

Diego Simeone, the coach from Atletico Madrid, was a very strong player as a midfielder.

On Mario Mandzukic

Mario Mandzukic works so hard for his team. He's not only a No. 9 but also runs behind the defenders and drops into midfield.

On Niko Kovac

Niko Kovac had to understand the system inside Bayern, to realise that this is a very different club to Eintracht Frankfurt, where he was before.

On Jurgen Klopp

Klopp knows how to motivate players. He speaks to them individually, gets their confidence up, makes them believe and grow in quality. He makes his players feel happy. And they then take that happiness onto the field. He builds that into them.

On Pep Guardiola

Guardiola won so many trophies at Barcelona that he had a huge impact.

Guardiola likes footballers who can pass the ball, who have eyes for the best position and the right runs.

For Guardiola, the system and tactics can change but not the approach, attitude, or philosophy.

Comparing Mourinho and Guardiola

Pep is not the best coach in the world. I prefer Mourinho. He is the No.1, because Mourinho is more transparent and more direct than Guardiola.

In Germany, we laugh at it. Mourinho just selects a topic to moan about - transfers, team preparation, a rival coach. But Pep Guardiola wants it all to be about the performance of his team. He's obsessed by possession, like at Bayern Munich, and will not compromise on that at Manchester City.

On Raheem Sterling

Raheem Sterling is a danger to every defence because of his pace and technique. If you let him go one against one, you are in trouble. He has that speed with the ball at his feet to make a difference.

On Antoine Griezmann

No single player can stop

on his own.

On Neymar

Neymar doesn't need to act - he's an excellent player, and he has everything a high-level player needs. He's one of the top five players in the world; why does he need to act? It doesn't bring him sympathy, and it's not good for him.

On Robert Lewandowsky

Lewandowski really is an exceptional player.

Robert Lewandowski has had some criticism, but he knows how to find the net.

There is no such thing that absolutely everything depends on one player. But if I had to answer the question of who they depend on the most, I would point to Lewandowski.

Lewy' makes a difference, he cannot be replaced. Robert is an important figure in Munich like Messi is in Barcelona. However, when Messi gets injured, the image of the Catalan game changes completely. Bayern does not have this problem.

On Julian Nagelsmann

He knows the Bundesliga, he speaks the language. He was a fan at his young age, of Bayern Munich. He has done a very good job in Hoffenheim and Leipzig. Not only in the national competition but also in the Champions League with Leipzig,

On Nolito

Nolito is not a left winger - he is a central player.

On Diego Maradona

To speak of Mexico '86, I can make it short and speak only of Maradona. I never saw a player who dominated a World Cup like he did in '86.

Back in my days, my favorite opponent was Diego Maradona.

Maradona, yes! Diego was very fast, with good skills and brilliant dribbling. Many players are fast but cannot control the ball, but he was amazing.

On Toni Kroos

Toni Kroos leaving the German national team would hurt me very much.

Kroos was right to go abroad. It was like winning the lottery.

On Thomas Muller

Muller is a winner for Germany and expects to score big goals in big games, especially with his late runs from behind the striker.

Muller isn't a number seven, a number nine, nor a number 10. He is everything and in between.

On Cha Bum-kun

I played the 1980 UEFA Cup final for Borussia Monchengladbach against Eintracht Frankfurt, who had the legendary South Korean Cha Bum-kun as their forward. He was the face of Frankfurt then. He had pace, great technique, was a great dribbler, and scored goals. And most importantly, he was the ultimate team man.

On Jadon Sancho

Sancho is a player who has everything. He has fantastic speed, great technique, a good eye for his colleagues, and that key pass. Everything he does, he pulls off at high speed at the right moment. For me, he is a perfect player. The ability he has is instinctive, natural. You cannot teach that brilliance.

On Mesut Ozil

I often have the feeling that Ozil does not feel comfortable in the Germany jersey, that he is not free, almost as if he does not want to play at all. There is no heart, no joy, no passion.

On Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira

Ozil obviously has a lot of quality, but so does Sami Khedira as holding midfielder.

On Dele Alli

Dele Alli doesn't have to show me or anyone else anything - because he has already proved his quality.

On Andres Iniesta

People talk about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but you need an Iniesta to win the big titles.

Andres Iniesta is the magic man, not just for Barcelona but also for Spain.

On Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic

Both Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic are classy players, top midfielders. They play for Real Madrid and Barcelona. That tells you everything.

On Sandro Wagner

Striker Sandro Wagner is very strong, a true No. 9, who really made his mark playing with Germany in the Confederations Cup.

Best Lothar Matthaus quotes about his club and international career

We wrap up our article on Lothar Matthaus quotes with a collection of his sayings about his club and international career. Matthaus started his club career at Borussia Monchengladbach and spent the best years of his career at Bayern Munich. He also had a very successful spell with Inter Milan. He also won both the World Cup and the European Championship with Germany national team. Matthaus retired in MLS at the age of 39. Here are the

Best Lothar Matthaus quotes

about his club and international career.

On his international career with Germany

Winning is the most important thing at a World Cup.

I've played at five World Cups, including one in the U.S. where the distances between the stadiums were also big.

The best day of my career was probably winning the World Cup!

I'm proud I was first to be named World Player of the Year, in 1991.

Winning the World Cup was just the most emotional experience.

I think my breakthrough was at the World Cup 1986.

If someone plays six World Cups, they deserve to be congratulated.

When I was a player, and since then, we have never been so snobbish as to go into a tournament saying, 'We will win this World Cup.' We aren't like that.

On his time at Bayern Munich

Bayern fulfilled every wish, no matter what Guardiola wanted: the players, the coaches, and even the doctors. He caused much disturbance off the field. But he is one of the best coaches on the planet.

Bayern is always a team that can win the Champions League title in Europe.

I am happy when Bayern win.

I never had a worse feeling in football than that night in 1999. I lost a couple of titles in my career: you can lose and it’s never nice. But the way we lost that Champions League final was a lot worse. That was what made me angry.

We respected United a lot. They had great players and a great coach. I had played as a sweeper that season – we’d played with three defenders, with me in the middle of Samuel Kuffour and Thomas Linke. But for the final we made a tactical change. David Beckham was playing in the centre of midfield for United rather than out on the right wing, because Roy Keane and Paul Scholes were both suspended. Our manager, Ottmar Hitzfeld, asked me to play in midfield against Beckham.

Mario Basler put us in front, and we dominated the 90 minutes. United’s attack didn’t exist for those 90 minutes. They never had any shots on goal.

I was 38 then, and after 75 minutes I told the coach I was feeling tired. I’d been making different runs in midfield than when I’d played sweeper, where I didn’t have to run as much. I didn’t tell the coach that he had to take me off – only that I was tired and if he did want to substitute me, I would agree.

I had a really good relationship with Ottmar and I think I had to tell him that. Then it was down to him. With 10 minutes left, he brought me off. Looking back, maybe it was a mistake – but if we’d won 1-0, it would have been correct. It always depends on the result.

But maybe we didn’t lose only quality with that substitution. Maybe we lost personality. Maybe it was a wake-up call to Manchester United to say: ‘Hey, Lothar Matthaus isn’t on the field any more, so now we can attack more as they’re missing a personality in their defence – their captain.’

We went too defensive. Maybe we were too sure that we‘d win. We gave the ball away far too easily and gave them corner-kicks. Maybe they wouldn’t have got those two corners if I was still on the pitch. Maybe they wouldn’t have scored those two goals. But nobody knows.

For United to score twice in injury time was unbelievable. We’d also led in my only other European Cup final, against Porto in Vienna in ’87, when we lost 2-1. But back then, Bayern dominated only the first 45 minutes and the right team won. Against Man United we dominated 90 minutes, and for that reason it felt much worse.

After the final whistle, everyone was upset. The players didn’t understand, the fans didn’t understand – United’s fans were celebrating and ours were crying. We all went up to receive our runners-up medals but I took mine off straight away. I was too upset – what could I do with second place?

That was my final chance to win the Champions League. I still had a contract at Bayern until 2001, but a few months after that match I wasn’t ready to play in the Bundesliga anymore and I moved to the USA to join the MetroStars.

I never won the European Cup and fans do talk about that. For me, my life doesn’t change with that title. I wouldn’t have a different life today with the Champions League or without it. I had a long career and I’m very happy. It’s nice when you can win everything, but sometimes that isn’t possible. That night it was possible, but we – the team and myself – were too stupid to do it.

We had to congratulate Man United. It was the other side of the game. Football is a beautiful sport when the better team is winning. However, it is also a sport where it is possible to have a game like that one in 1999.

(All the Matthaus quotes about the 1999-2000 Champions League final is from his column in the FourFourTwo magazine)

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