Tony Adams
Gabala was a remote, little village in the Caucasus, and that experience has helped me a great deal.
My alcoholism was an illness. It was in my DNA, my genes. Both my parents were addicts and I have an addictive personality.
To be a footballer you have to be a certain type, you have to walk that tightrope near the addictive gene to make it into the pro game. It is unhealthy the way you have to push yourself and your body.
In 1987, I was captain of Arsenal and England's centre-half. I walked down Oxford Street and not one person bothered me. Not one. Today I would be mobbed and asked for selfies. That has brought a level of fear to today's player and with that fear he has become detached from reality and the public.
My mistakes have made me who I am today.
My mother's side of the family tree is Scotland - Edinburgh, in fact.
I kept a notebook on the opposition guys because there was only something like five live games on TV per year.
When I finished up at Arsenal in 2002, aged 36, I was asked if I fancied a season at Rangers but I would have just been picking up money. Besides I wanted to be remembered as a one-club man.
I think management has passed me by.
Play for the name on the front of the shirt, and they will remember the name on the backCollection: Soccer
I will sign every contract Arsenal put in front of me without reading it.Collection: Reading
I don't actually like people. I'm a loner and if I had my way I'd just walk my dogs every day, never talk to anyone and then die.Collection: Dog
Those that say it is the taking part and not the winning that is important are, for me, wrong. It is the other way round.Collection: Winning
Left alone with our own heads on, we can be pretty mental.Collection: England
I will have to make tactical decisions, technical decisions and emotional decisions. This time it was a tactical one.Collection: Soccer
I really rate Paul Scholes, because he hasn't got the high profile of many of the Manchester United players, he doesn't get too much attention, but he is one very good player. He is an intelligent player, he works hard and he scores some great goals. He is not flamboyant and is a quiet lad off the pitch but he is a tremendous asset to Manchester United and to England. He has already got my vote as player of the year.Collection: Hard Work