I love football... Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand tells Soccer AM what makes the beautiful game so special to him.

We all love football. But why? Well Soccer AM has been asking some of the biggest names in the sport what makes the beautiful game so great. Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand has just launched an online magazine called 5, and he speaks about his love for the game and reveals why he wouldn't change anything about it. MY EARLIEST MEMORIES OF FOOTBALL ARE...
My earliest memories of football are the 1986 World Cup. Diego Maradona taking on the whole England team, leaving (Terry) Butcher for dead and putting it past the goalkeeper. MY FAVOURITE STADIUM WAS...
The old Wembley with the twin towers. They should have kept the twin towers and put them into the new stadium. With today's technology they could have done that I'm sure, but it was a fantastic stadium and I was lucky to get to play there. MY FAVOURITE THING ABOUT MATCHDAY IS...
My favourite thing on matchday was at the match watching the players warm-up. Doing all the skills and watching their technique and how they passed the ball to each other and how they wore their socks and tops and stuff like that. And the routines they used to do before the games, I used to love that. I used to say to my dad 'let's make sure we get there early so I can see the lads warming up'. MY FAVOURITE PIECES OF MEMORABILIA ARE...
When we won the league a couple of years ago I got all the boots off all the lads that played that season. So one day I'll be able to put them into a nice cabinet and maybe give it to the United museum or something. It will be a good thing to have I think. IF I DIDN'T HAVE FOOTBALL I WOULD... If I didn't have football when I was growing up I would probably be a Hollywood movie star! Hahaha! No, I would have done what a lot of my mates have done which is work for Southwark Council in the youth clubs - coaching football and other things. IF I COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT FOOTBALL... If I could change one thing about football it would probably be the geezers in the suits who keep trying to change football. Trying to add new rules and take other ones away. It was a great game 100 years ago and it's not going to change, so just keep it the way it is please. IF I OWNED A FOOTBALL CLUB I WOULD... If I was a chairman of a football club I would make sure I took the lads on a great tour at the end of the season as a wind down. I've heard about other teams going to other countries and stuff and getting treated to great journeys and trips and we've yet to do that, so if you're listening Mr Chairman... I LOVE FOOTBALL BECAUSE...
I love football because every morning I wake up to go to a job that I just love, so I'm lucky to be in that position.