Casemiro Quotes

In the defensive midfield position, the player needs to give balance to the team and try to control the game. That's exactly what I try to do.

I am not a player who goes on mazy runs - I like to defend. I like to do a job for the team.

I'm a coach who likes to have the ball, but what I really think is, 'How can you be in charge of the game?' I think, but maybe I am the only one, that the defensive process can take care of the game. Why is that? Because teams wait to defend. If you create something where you go to defend, to steal the ball where you want, it's different.

I like playing just outside of my own penalty box, the player who receives the ball and organises the game.

The important thing to understand, from my point of view, is if the opponents break our lines and they are attacking our box, something has gone wrong, and it is me who has to fix it. But fouls in football are normal. You have to do it sometimes.

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

I know when I step into midfield I have to sharpen my feet up and be more aware of what's around me, at centre back it's more about timing, positioning and communication.

We believe defending is very much a team job, and we can't just rely on a back four and a goalkeeper.

Rafa Benitez was keen on defending - all dropping back together if you lose the ball.

If someone is going to spend a whole game marking you, then there may be games when I will have to sacrifice myself for the team and take them away and create space for a team-mate.

Busquets reads everything. Players like Busquets or Xabi Alonso in midfield have the capacity to read the whole game.

When you are a coach, you are watching how the team is positioning itself on the field - if your team is in possession of the ball, you are already anticipating what could happen if you lose the ball.

The way we stop Mesut Ozil is as a team. He's a good player but only as a team can we stop him.

For me, it is very important to control a situation in defence. You can always score goals, but you have to add stability in the defence.

Maybe modern tactics mean that making the switch from defence to midfield is easier. Many years ago, full backs were more limited - you were just supposed to defend, and it didn't matter if you could get forward too.

You can't play man to man against Liverpool and out-pass them. You have to keep your shape and stop them.

Most teams won't really focus on one player because they've got multiple players to defend and that will open up a lot of things for me.

I think it's important that you're vocal during the match, especially at centre-half. You're basically the eyes and ears of the team, and if you don't open your mouth, it's not going to help the team out.

When we have a defensive situation in which we are conceding too many goals, it is not just a problem in the defense but the entire team, starting with the coach.

When teams train now, it is about what they do with the ball and, if they lose it, how quickly they press to win it back.

In Italy it is far more difficult than in Spain, where teams are not that attentive in defence.

The defensive phase is about the team, so it's about balance.

I don't want to become a player who spends half his time running round after the breakdown, because that won't get the best out of me.

Busquets is a sitting midfield player who breaks up play, intercepts, passes it very quickly and is intelligent. That's what he is. He's not much more than that, but he gets a lot of praise for it. Whereas Eric Dier does a similar job, but sometimes gets loads of criticism for it.

The manager might like it sometimes when I play up front because I can cause trouble for the defenders, but for me, my best position is defensive midfield, stopping the opposition, and then looking to impose myself on a game.