--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a player, Di Matteo helped build the…" description: "\"As a player, Di Matteo helped build the foundations of a winning mentality that Chelsea was in need of at the time. He was also a successful coach. The..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/marcel-desailly-5030_coach_as-a-player-di-matteo-helped-build-the-f_205115.jpg" --- # As a player, Di Matteo helped build the foundations of a… ![“As a player, Di Matteo helped build the foundations of a winning mentality that Chelsea was in need of at the time. He was also a successful coach. The fans felt something special towards him.” quote by Marcel Desailly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/marcel-desailly-5030_coach_as-a-player-di-matteo-helped-build-the-f_205115.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/marcel-desailly-5030_coach_as-a-player-di-matteo-helped-build-the-f_205115.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/304/marcel-desailly-5030_coach_as-a-player-di-matteo-helped-build-the-f_205115.jpg) > “As a player, Di Matteo helped build the foundations of a winning mentality that Chelsea was in need of at the time. He was also a successful coach. The fans felt something special towards him.” [Marcel Desailly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-desailly/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A player’s influence can shape a team’s mindset, and successful coaching reinforces that legacy, earning deep fan admiration. **In simple terms:** Players can build winning mindsets; coaching sustains them. Key Takeaway Cultivate strong culture, then lead. Themes sports leadership legacy Mood inspirational pragmatic Type motivational reflective When to use this quote - team building - mentorship - fan engagement - career transition Key Concepts team dynamics coach‑player relationships Questions to Reflect On - What habits foster a winning mentality? - How does fan loyalty affect performance? A Different Perspective Coaching success depends on resources and player talent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coach/) [Coach Fans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coach-fans-2131313/) [Fans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fans/) [Fans Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fans-felt-602772/) [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Matteo Helped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matteo-helped-2131312/) [Mentality Chelsea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mentality-chelsea-2131311/) [Special](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Successful Coach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful-coach-608075/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) [Winning Mentality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning-mentality-2/) ## Related quotes > [I feel endless need to LEARN, to IMPROVE, to EVOLVE, not only to please the coach and the fans, but also to feel SATISFIED…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristiano-ronaldo/i-feel-endless-need-to-learn-to-improve-to-evolve-not-only-to-please/) [Cristiano Ronaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristiano-ronaldo/) > [I am not a perfectionist, but I like to feel that things are done well. 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Don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/to-be-a-successful-coach-you-should-be-and-look-prepared-you-must-be/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [A player needs to focus on one thing to be successful, while a coach is thinking about the whole process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-van-gaal/a-player-needs-to-focus-on-one-thing-to-be-successful-while-a-coach/) [Louis van Gaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-van-gaal/) > [He's very confident in his own ability, as he should because he's a successful coach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-howard/he-s-very-confident-in-his-own-ability-as-he-should-because-he-s-a/) [Tim Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-howard/) > [I have to admit, I sometimes wonder how much more successful I would have been as a coach had it not been for my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/i-have-to-admit-i-sometimes-wonder-how-much-more-successful-i-would/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [A successful coach is one who is still coaching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartzwalder/a-successful-coach-is-one-who-is-still-coaching/) [Ben Schwartzwalder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartzwalder/) > [I think fans always felt that I try real hard and I am passionate about what I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sami-zayn/i-think-fans-always-felt-that-i-try-real-hard-and-i-am-passionate/) [Sami Zayn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sami-zayn/) > [I don't feel like I lost any female fans. 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So it's not something I felt like I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lane/every-one-of-my-guy-friends-i-played-baseball-with-were-backstreet/) [Chris Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lane/) > [Before being a player, I was a diehard fan of Roma, so I know what the fans felt when we won.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesco-totti/before-being-a-player-i-was-a-diehard-fan-of-roma-so-i-know-what-the/) [Francesco Totti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesco-totti/) > [“He had never been able to understand the assumption of intimacy fans felt with those they had never met.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-galbraith/he-had-never-been-able-to-understand-the-assumption-of-intimacy-fans/) [Robert Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-galbraith/) > [I chose to go back to 90210 because it's home, you know, and we had such a loyal fan base for so many years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-spelling/i-chose-to-go-back-to-90210-because-it-s-home-you-know-and-we-had/) [Tori Spelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-spelling/) > [With all the media attention, all the love from the fans, I felt I needed to prove myself. Prove that I'm not a marketing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-lin/with-all-the-media-attention-all-the-love-from-the-fans-i-felt-i/) [Jeremy Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-lin/) ## More by Marcel Desailly > [The way to win is to win together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-desailly/the-way-to-win-is-to-win-together/) [Marcel Desailly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-desailly/) > [To experience playing with other big players, to be maybe a second choice. To face difficulty, a new language for his family. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-desailly/to-experience-playing-with-other-big-players-to-be-maybe-a-second/) [Marcel Desailly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-desailly/) > [Honestly when you look at football when Sepp Blatter was made FIFA president in 1998, the global budget for the World Cup in France,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-desailly/honestly-when-you-look-at-football-when-sepp-blatter-was-made-fifa/) [Marcel Desailly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-desailly/) > [Because he knows he has the talent to change games, you get the impression Neymar wants to be the one to do that something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-desailly/because-he-knows-he-has-the-talent-to-change-games-you-get-the/) [Marcel Desailly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-desailly/) > [In 2002 we went into the first World Cup in Asia as reigning champions and we had also added the European crown in 2000,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-desailly/in-2002-we-went-into-the-first-world-cup-in-asia-as-reigning/) [Marcel Desailly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-desailly/) > [This is the sort of situation I enjoy: a game in the San Siro, a huge crowd and a night for big men. 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I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-krzyzewski/i-don-t-look-at-myself-as-a-basketball-coach-i-look-at-myself-as-a/) [Mike Krzyzewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-krzyzewski/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Every coach in the league does an unbelievable job, and they're prepared and think you're going to outcoach people, or you think that you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-d-antoni/every-coach-in-the-league-does-an-unbelievable-job-and-they-re/) [Mike D'Antoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-d-antoni/) > [Everything I have experienced and learned in football led me towards one day becoming a coach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-carlos/everything-i-have-experienced-and-learned-in-football-led-me-towards/) [Roberto Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-carlos/) > [Often, organizations don't know how good they have it with a player or coach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-van-gundy/often-organizations-don-t-know-how-good-they-have-it-with-a-player-or/) [Jeff Van Gundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-van-gundy/) > [I was just putting way too much pressure on myself. I was just trying to get that validation from my dad. 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