I've been fortunate enough to witness some of the biggest moments in football history mere yards away from the action, but I wanted to go out on a high rather than stay too long. I didn't want to get to the stage where people say, 'Oh blimey, Motty's lost it. He's getting the players wrong, and his voice is going.'

John Motson

I might feel a little bit empty, and it might get to me for a short time, but I'm hoping to keep my association with football and with broadcasting - I'm not retiring from everything; I'm retiring from the BBC. I'm certainly not going pipe and slippers.

John Motson

I've been fortunate enough to witness some of the biggest moments in football history mere yards away from the action, but I wanted to go out on a high rather than stay too long. I didn't want to get to the stage where people say, 'Oh blimey, Motty's lost it. He's getting the players wrong, and his voice is going.'

John Motson

The FA Cup as a tournament was very good to me. I'd like to think I can still have some association with that because it was the Ronnie Radford goal for Hereford against Newcastle which really put me on the map in 1972.

John Motson

Brazil - they're so good it's like they are running round the pitch playing with themselves.

John Motson

Its Arsenal 0 - Everton 1, and the longer it stays like that the more you've got to fancy Everton.

John Motson

I've watched us go out on penalties so often. I really thought we'd make it at Euro '96, especially after Gazza's goal against Scotland. I still go to every England game as a spectator.

John Motson

And Seaman, just like a falling oak, manages to change direction.

John Motson

I did a bit of boxing when younger. Once I was joined by Muhammad Ali as my co-commentator. I've got a picture of the two of us together ringside at the Albert Hall on my wall at home.

John Motson

I'm not a celebrity whose face is recognised everywhere I go, like Gary Lineker, but my voice does make people sit up and pay attention from time to time.

John Motson

Even now, I still get a bit apprehensive before a game because I am worried about whether I have done enough preparation or if something is going to catch me out. But the fear factor has gone - as it should have done by now, really, after nearly 50 years.

John Motson

Nearly all the Brazilian supporters are wearing yellow shirts - it's a fabulous kaleidoscope of colour.

John Motson

I have had a wonderful time. I don't think things could have gone any better for me because I was football-mad as a boy, and to get a job watching the game and going to all the major events I have been to has been very rewarding.

John Motson

The World Cup is a truly International event.

John Motson

It is now a pleasure to go to any of the Premier League grounds. They are so welcoming, not just to me but to all the broadcasters - all media, really, you have to say.

John Motson

The whole London football scene is now financially more powerful and ambitious than ever before. That reflects the city's economic might and its multiculturalism. Now West Ham have a new , and Spurs and Chelsea will follow. And the London clubs have widened their areas of support.

John Motson

Not the first half you might have expected, even though the score might suggest that it was.

John Motson

The competition to get above the rest and be the lead commentator, or whatever you want to call it, is much fiercer than it was when I was starting out. By the same token, there were not as many jobs going back then, so to get one was an achievement in itself.

John Motson

I just thought my 50th year in the BBC is 2018, and it has to end sometime, and I thought that would be a good note to go out.

John Motson

I still use felt tip pens for my notes, on a white board that I carry around with me. I am not into the computer technology - you can say that quite safely.

John Motson

I do remember once going to Salzburg in Austria. Liverpool were playing a European game there, and they put me in a box behind glass. I hate being behind glass; I always want to feel part of the action.

John Motson