Top 33 Carli Lloyd Quotes

Nobody has done more for me than my parents, who devoted untold amounts of time and money that allowed me to play the game I love. It’s no exaggeration to say I never would have gotten anywhere near a World Cup, an Olympics, or even the U.S. national team without them. I have never forgotten that, and I never will.

Fitness, defending, the mental stuff – those were all weaknesses of mine. And I turned those into strengths.

I didn’t like playing with dolls; I didn’t like getting dressed up. A lot of my friends and people I went to school with were into fashion and their clothes, so I lacked a bit of self-belief and confidence… I wasn’t really comfortable.

If you‘re quiet, and you don’t speak out, you’re never going to get anything accomplished.

Every time I step onto the field, whether people like it or not, I’m not trying to play dirty – I’m just playing tough.

If I’ve learned anything in my career, it’s that nothing worthwhile in life comes easy. That’s just the way it is.

Everything in my life – family, friends, even my fiance – are all second to soccer. And I’ve won every tournament where I haven‘t had anyone there. It just seems to work for me. I don’t think I’m going to change that.

I went from a player who was never fit to a person who actually worked hard to get myself in shape.

Winning the World Cup was a dream come true after so many years of wanting something so bad. After that final whistle, I dropped to the ground on my knees and got emotional.

You don’t want to get too wrapped up in that final destination. You want to enjoy the journey, enjoy the process, and just take it one step at a time.

I don’t run on the treadmill, because there’s no treadmill moving for you on the soccer field.

No longer are the days where I just kind of fly under the radar. Everybody‘s recognizing me. Everybody wants pictures. They feel inspired. It’s very cool.

Any professional athlete will tell you that the mind is everything. For me, there is no shame in saying that I visualize and I meditate, because it really works.

If you have a dream, it’s definitely achievable through hard work, through dedication, sacrifice, everything.

I love shopping! It’s my release sometimes.

I’m loyal. I’m real. I’m not afraid to say what I’m thinking.

This is my journey. If I fall, I have to pick myself up. If I’m not getting the playing time I want, it’s up to me to figure out why.

Basically my whole life revolves around soccer. I don’t take many vacations. Everything just gets put on the back burner because of my training. I miss out on a lot of weddings and family functions. But at the end of the day, I’m sitting here as a world champion, and it feels pretty good.

In men’s sports, people criticize coaches and managers all the time, call out teammates, too, and it’s not that huge of a deal. Often, the guy speaking out is even lauded for having the courage to tell the truth. When it happens in women‘s sports, though, it always seems to be viewed as a nasty, claws-out cat fight.

My biggest benching was before the 2012 Olympics. It kind of came out of nowhere. I just kind of had one bad half, 45 minutes, and it pretty much cost me my starting spot.

I don’t think anyone would say that the women on the United States national team are not great role models and ambassadors. Everywhere we go, we connect with fans, sign autographs, and represent our sport and federation with class.

For so long, I’ve been a little misunderstood as a person. You know, I do have this strut about me. I don’t know if it’s the Jersey girl in me. I like to think of myself as an egg, you know? Hard on the outside but soft on the inside.

I’m not having to go outside and switch the role model hat on. It’s me, and it’s important for me to leave that legacy to help inspire younger players because I didn’t have a role model growing up.

It’s those moments when everything is on the line, and someone needs to show up in a big moment. I prepare my mind and I prepare my body to be ready for those moments. And I think it’s just what I do. I live for those moments.

I’ve taken great pride in not being fragile.

If I am training on a holiday, most likely nobody else is – and that gives me the edge. If I’m supposed to run for 20 minutes and I get back and it’s only been 19:34, I’m going to jog in a circle for 26 more seconds. I’m never going to cut it short.

In those one-off games, everyone can do those, but you put together a six, seven-game tournament, the strong survive. For me to still feel good from beginning to end, that’s a testament to how I train and what I do.

I’m not getting recognized because I posed in a swimsuit edition of some magazine, but because of what I do on the field, and that’s important to me.

I don’t want to be known for someone that’s good-looking. I want to be known as someone who is one of the best midfielders. That’s my thing.

Playing in Wembley Stadium in front of 83-some-thousand fans to win a gold medal was unreal.

Comic-Con is really cool. It’s different. I like to people-watch. I like to see the costumes.

My emergence has been slow and steady, I would say. I think I’ve improved every single year. I keep getting better; I keep getting fitter, sharper – and I’m not stopping.

Like many kids, I was thrown into recreational soccer in my town, and from there, I grew to love it. Everywhere I went, I carried a soccer ball with me.