Ryan Babel Quotes

Tactically, I know how to play on one side even though I remain convinced that I can play better through the middle.

Training's completely different now. It used to be a lot of running and work without the ball. Now it's all with the ball, which any player loves.

At Rennes, I played more down the left wing, but also down the right and sometimes in midfield. At Dortmund, it was the same: I alternated wings. I don't have problems with the position I'll take up.

I was always a little bit compared to Jurgen because my core of working is working against the ball.

I've played as a striker all my life. To play on the right or the left is always difficult.

I think we've got a lot players in the squad who are more suited to European football at the moment.

Playing in midfield is a different ball game. You have to be on the half-turn all the time, have a different picture in your head of what is behind you and in front of you. Playing at right-back is different again.

It does not matter to me. I can play from the left, the right, or attack through the middle.

As a youngster as I was a centre-half, I liked being on the ball and coming out from the back. I took chances so I got put in midfield and then I was playing all over the pitch so adjusted wherever I needed to play.

I'm not someone who can do 10 stepovers or backheels - I'm not very interested in that. I'm more fascinated by the simplicity of play because the thing that makes this sport so beautiful.

I feel comfortable in the playmaker role, but I can play on the left, on the right, and even pivot.

Training with Guardiola is good. He's always talking to each player, trying to give them a vision of the style of football he wants to play.

I prefer to play in Spain than in the Premiership. Spanish football is more like my qualities.

As a youngster in South America, there is more chance to express your talent, without thinking too much about formations and tactics. Football over here is much more tactical, so when you come to Europe, you have to learn a lot about these aspects.

When God built Pele, he put everything that a player needs in him. He knew how to shoot, how to dribble, how to head, be physical. He had everything that a football player needs to have. It's difficult for someone to achieve what he has in football.

The perception is that the Stoke players were one-dimensional: that they could only play in a certain way, and that was the top and bottom of their capabilities.

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.

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 received a lot of criticism maybe because in England they are not accustomed to seeing a playmaker with my skills. Because I'm not a physical player but I think more about playing the ball.

I want to become the ultimate centre forward. I want to be able to play on the left, on the right, and down the middle.

When I was in Germany I never played like this, so defensive - almost a left-back, but that is good for me because defensive work was something I missed in Germany.

When we are operating in tight spaces and when the opposition are closing us down, players like Messi can help us to create openings.

Jorginho is really suitable to the way I like to play. He is a player that has many good sides to him. He wants to work hard, and he's very fast in moving the ball, which is important for us, although there is also Cesc Fabregas, who has the same potential as Jorginho.

You have to sometimes shoot from the second row, that's all football. So you have to be a bit more flexible.

I started to realise I am not as strong as others, and I can't muscle someone off the ball who is twice the size of me. So I have altered my game, playing on the half-turn, for example, and it's made me a much better player.