Jesus Navas Quotes

As England manager I always felt we needed an extra man in midfield to retain the ball, but that was more as an attacking ploy to help create opportunities. It came from my experience playing international football in a 4-4-2 and spending half my time chasing the ball.

There are a lot of teams that don't want to play, that only want to defend against Barcelona, and that makes it difficult. We're always looking for the open space. A lot of times we'll face six defenders and four midfielders.

You pressure, you want possession, you want to attack. Some teams can't or don't pass the ball. What are you playing for? What's the point? That's not football. Combine, pass, play. That's football - for me, at least.

The old adage that you shouldn't change a winning team doesn't apply in modern international football because managers have to study the opposition and pick players who exploit their weaknesses.

I don't want Kylian to play like Neymar and keep the ball. Kylian is incredibly dangerous in the final move, and I want him to stay that way.

It's always good to have more than one player who can take free-kicks or penalties.

Pep's Barcelona was spectacular. They had a collective style based on players of talent, which sought control and sought to dominate all over the pitch.

At Tottenham, I'm asked to take a lot of risks to keep maximum possession of the ball and build from the back.

It's not easy to create chances or a game when you're just receiving long balls.

As a holding midfield player, you want movement and to play between the lines.

If you look at Barcelona and the way they press high, or Bayern Munich, the way they press high... that's what makes them the best teams, because when they lose the ball, in the first three seconds, that's when they get the ball back, really, really high.

In England and Germany, perhaps, there is more of a focus on the physical side of the game, in breaking down the opposition's play, especially against the lower placed sides.

I like to be in contact with the ball, have possession, to play.

It is impossible to do it for the whole game, but when you have the ball for most of the game and have players like Samir Nasri, David Silva, Yaya Toure, and Raheem Sterling, they keep the ball so well.

Maybe Klopp is the best manager in the world at creating teams who attack the back four with so many players, from almost anywhere on the pitch. They have an intensity with the ball and without the ball, and it is not easy to do that.

For the strikers, we have more freedom, and even when we lose the ball, if we press together, we can get it back, and it is good system for Chelsea.

Part of my job leading the line for Watford is to occupy centre-halves - by that I mean those battles with Huth, say, to try to win headers when the ball is played forward. But I also look to bring centre-halves out of position to the flanks and make space for my team-mates in the middle.

It is an important part of the role of a centre-back to focus on building up the game and initiating moves.

In the Premier League you need creative players to open games up.

I don't want just pure roll out of the back four. I want productive mixed play... how many ways can you affect a game?

Why shouldn't Harry Kane take corners? If he happens to be the best striker of a ball in the team and gives you the best delivery, why shouldn't he do it?

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

We try and play football in a positive way. Any team has to be defensively organised, but you have to look at the attributes of the players and play to their strengths.

Getafe is an uncomfortable rival for Barca and for anyone. They are experts in winning second balls.

Tactically, Italians are very strong. They are a lot into tactics: how to defend, when you lose the ball, where will you be?