Zico Quotes

How do you mark Ronaldo? You try not to leave him alone and don't let him shoot on his right foot. As for Messi... you just make the sign of the cross!

Messi often has a crowd of opponents around him, but with Neymar on the pitch, too, at least two of those opposition players will have to be aware of him.

It is possible to stop Messi. Teams do it when he plays for Argentina. But the Barcelona Messi is different.

If Messi has the ball, he is fantastic to watch and difficult to stop. You have to double up on him, triple up on him even, stay with him constantly to block his way to the goal.

Any good attacker will always beat a defender who's face-marking you.

If Messi is on top form, then his team can win everything.

I'm an attacking full-back.

I've played against Messi a lot of times, and I've already conceded goals through my legs with him.

As a defender I try to keep clean sheets.

I can honestly tell you that playing against Messi is very difficult.

I've always looked up to John Terry; he's a massive defender and a rock. His one-v-one defending and reading of the game have really educated me. I watch a lot of clips of him.

I can mark Messi only in my dreams.

At the World Cup, most teams changed their style when they played us and maybe were more defensive. In the final, we didn't know if Holland were going to do the same, but the important thing was we beat them in the end.

Real Madrid, they are the best counter-attacking team in the world.

I try to get early contact and keep it on the ground. I like to keep the ball down as much as I can.

The biggest pass for a defender is a pass forward.

We were having a trial game against Leeds, and Jack Charlton was the boss of Middlesbrough at the time.

Ashley Cole is a fantastic defender. I have seen him keep the best players in the world quiet.

Messi is a great player. Playing against him is not good - it is bad.

That's soccer. There are good games and others that aren't so much.

In football, the only game I know is the 90-minutes game. It's not mind games; I don't try to do that.

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.

It's always a battle to play against Diego Costa.

You have to make the strikers fear you. Make it difficult for them to get on the ball and go into different areas. That makes my job easier.

It is very tough to beat an English team. The type of football they play is only in the Premier League. They defend as though their lives depend on it. And they are very successful.