Philipp Lahm Quotes

As a midfielder, when you have sealed things up at the back, my job is to provide the ammunition for the strikers and forwards, to create opportunities for them.

I've played on the wing in some games and found myself in the middle for five or 10 minutes when others drift wide. It's about creating chances, scoring goals and helping the team win.

All coaches now look for forwards who not only score goals but also run back and help in midfield.

You put a lot of pressure on your defenders to be able to hold the fort when you go forward.

I often felt as a player in a 4-4-2, you end up being outnumbered in midfield and chasing the ball, so as a manager I liked wingbacks to push forward; it gives the midfield player on the ball three or four options.

As a No. 9, I have to be there to score goals, but that isn't the only thing. I also participate in the build-up and help my team-mates, but, above all, it's about scoring goals.

I have to stay in front to try and create chances and be in the right place in the box.

I'm a striker. I feel I can have my greatest impact there because I'm free to roam around the pitch, take players on, have shots and create chances.

At fullback you have a little bit more defensive responsibility. You have to help out with your center backs a little bit more. As a wing back, you can be a little bit more aggressive with getting forward.

I am a striker, but I love playing wide.

It's a different playing style than at Monaco; there were two of us in midfield there, and here at Liverpool, there's three.

In my time at Milan, the club played with a 4-3-1-2 formation, and I was the player behind the two strikers. At Real, I play behind three. There is a greater defensive obligation, but I try to work around the area.

I like to win the ball back for the team and I can contribute going forward.

I don't think it's a problem if you play well and don't score, when you are creating chances.

The position I am playing at right wing-back, I know I can score goals there.

If I can't help the team offensively, I can help defensively.

If you insist on playing Jorginho, who is neat and tidy but not a goal threat, you have to have goal threats on either side of him.

I thrive on quick players getting to the byline and sending over crosses. I just have to be quick enough to get on the end of things. In that regard, my job has always been the same, but if we have more wide, quick players, that can only be good for me.

Someone said that my coaching is a combination of Milan's defensive discipline and the Dutch propensity for attacking football, and I think that is a fair description.

If you have a top winger, you are going to win a lot of games.

I realised when I was a striker that when I ended up wide on the left or right, it can be so much easier to get space and face defenders up.

I am a striker, so I have to score goals and give assists.

I've always been looking to get goals and assists, and to do that, I need to be higher up the pitch.

When teams play good football, it tends to create chances for the striker.

I like to create chances, to shoot when I play farther forward, but I also like playing deeper, as you have more time on the ball.