I just want people to see me as a hard-working footballer and someone who is passionate about the game.
The first time I watched a World Cup game was in 2002. That was the first time Senegal had ever qualified for the World Cup, and it was great moment that I will never forget in my life. I was ten years old at the time, and that experience of watching my country in a World Cup is what inspired me to become a footballer.
Hendrix was the first person I had come across who seemed completely free, and when you're nine or 10, your life is entirely dominated by adults. So he represented this thing that I wanted to be. Hendrix was the first person who made me think it might be good to be a singer and a guitarist - before that I wanted to be a footballer.
Real Madrid is the most important thing that happened to me, both as a footballer and as a person.
My long hair and the sideburns made me stand out, really, because my hairstyle was completely different to the other footballers of that era.
I discovered that I was 'different' in the third grade. As the new kid at school, I was trying hard to find my footing. I thought I had made friends with a couple of girls - until they stopped talking to me. When I confronted them, they said their mothers had warned them to stay away because they might catch my skin condition.
I grew up in the South with my father; blues and country, that's always been my core. But I had it in me not to do what was expected. I wanted to find my own footing.
I'm not going to tell a person how to think, don't believe in that. What I want to do, when I write these books, is just to say don't be so sure of yourself. Let me pull the carpet out from underneath you, and let's see if you can still find the footing.
I am connected to the past in a way that keeps me going forward. Every leap forward that I make is by reaching back and firmly getting a footing in the past, and pushing forward as hard as I can.
I don't watch the movies I make, so I haven't seen 'Footloose' since it came out. You see this young, hungry actor, it's pretty fun. I was the only one they screen tested. It was an attempt by the director and producer to talk the head of the studio into hiring me because they didn't want me.
It would be easy for someone to think growing up in a small town would be like 'Footloose' or something, that it would be, 'No dancing allowed!' all the time, but it was quite the opposite. People always got excited for me and my successes and supported me even though I was a little weirdo goofball.
I was a dancer, and it's not really cool for a boy to dance, so it was inspiring to see a movie like 'Footloose' where a guy is dancing masculine and had a proper reason behind it. It made me feel cool, and when these kids would make fun of me, I'd be like, 'Oh, didn't you see 'Footloose,' man?'
My favorite prayer is Footprints in the Sand. You know that prayer? I know the times that he carried me, you know? I kind of wore him out.
For me, I always think of the image of sweeping out my footprints as I walk through a scene.
You know, God has a plan for me, and I'm going to follow in his footsteps and just rejoice and be happy.
We all know that we Africans just win medals in middle and long distance, and walking in their footsteps makes me feel proud, you know.
There's a long line of difference makers in my family. I'm following in the footsteps of some really strong men and women who have showed me what it means to give back; it's the greatest way to fulfill yourself.
The psychology of performance in athletic footwear and apparel is very real. Most athletes do not say, 'Just give me what works the best - I don't care what it looks like.' They're very concerned with what it looks like and how it makes them feel.
I think you can tell a lot by someone's footwear - cowboy boots would put me off, as would a man in Ugg boots or Crocs.
And since my father started training me, he always explained to me how important footwork is and how strong your legs have to be.
