“My failures were something for me - my first contact with professional...” — N'Golo Kante Quote

My failures were something for me - my first contact with professional football. Though it didn't go all that well, it's not a regret, it's just like that. But looking back, those failures helped me consider football differently, consider the professional game differently.

It is true that I receive a lot of praise and that is flattering. But I try not to let it affect me.

To be honest, it was only when I was first in the French Ligue 1 that my manager and other people started to say, 'Okay, N'Golo recovers a lot of balls.' Before that, I didn't consider it to be my job in the team.

I am happy to make my debut in the Champions League.

The interaction between human rights campaigners from Pakistan and India was a big taboo in the 1980s. When we started traveling to India to increase people-to-people contact between the two nations, we knew that we would face serious repercussions back home.

I love to play in the middle to be in contact with the ball all the time. I'm very happy to play in that position.

I don't want to be knocked out. But the contact and the focus and the energy I get from sparring gives me energy to make movies, energy to be a dad, energy to be a friend, and, you know, makes me feel, probably, a lot younger and behave a lot younger than I am.

It's been a great place to get in touch with what people are really thinking. And to make contact with readers and other writers. Egalitarian, wide open, like the Wild West!