When I was growing up, I worried that people would dismiss me as a boring swot because I always had my nose in a vocabulary book - usually in French or German.

In the 1900s, bleaching lotions and skin-lighteners were a female imperative no matter what her colour, often carrying suggestive names like 'Fair-Plex Ointment' and 'Black-No-More.' The tiniest touch of rouge was allowed, but only if applied with great subtlety.

The one thing - apart from assumptions about German - that I have to challenge frequently is people assuming that lexicographers are fierce protectors of the language when in fact our job is not to put a lid on it.

One of the things I noticed is that if you look up the word ambition you will see that when it's applied to women, it's almost always negative. If a woman is ambitious she's cutthroat, she's seen as more unpleasant. Whereas when its attached to a man it's far less negative.

Glute bridges make sure my hips are staying in line. Making sure that I'm not putting added stress on the hamstrings, hip flexors, or groin. Being able to stabilize the hips is pretty much the center of playing football, so you can stay healthy.

In each profession, you need to feel passion for that in order to give it your best performance. Football is my passion.

In Holland and Spain and France, where so many of us come from, people aren't interested in the sex lives of their players. We don't hear these stories - even in Italy where the media is right on top of football.

I was the kid who would join a sports team and be the biggest liability at first and a star player by the time the game got going. I just move very slowly.