Ruud van Nistelrooy Quotes

Normally, I play in midfield where I'm challenging the players and trying to take the ball.

I like to control the ball and analyse the game.

I have to open the game from my position. It's really important to play with the ball.

I like it when I am in the middle; I am closer to the ball. The manager wants me to pass, to make assists, create chances, and I do more because I think the position is more central, and I don't ask all the time for the ball at my feet.

I like to get the ball on the ground, make good plays and move the ball around the pitch quickly at a good tempo.

I would love to play alongside Wayne Rooney. He does the running of two or three players and makes a lot of space. We would be the perfect combination.

You have to take care of the ball to win football games.

Football is not about suffering. It's about enjoyment. Control the ball, be friendly with it, try to attack, try to score goals. Of course defending is part of it, but you can defend in a lot of ways.

If you've got someone like Thierry Henry in your team, you get him on the ball.

When I go into games as a forward, my job is really clear, and I just have to execute. But as a midfielder, you get to sort of enjoy the game more, and you get to feel the game and dictate the play.

Sometimes in midfield, it's nice because you do get a little bit more of the ball, and maybe out wide you rely on people to get you the ball.

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

In England, you might have a possession game of six v. six, and it's like headless chickens: people running around everywhere just trying to keep the ball and be strong in tackles. But in Spain, you always stay in your position. You're still in your shape for every drill.

I have to play with discipline in midfield.

If you have a good midfield, you have a good team.

I'm usually a No. 10, and the thing I most enjoy is helping my team-mates and creating goal-scoring chances for them.

You have to win on the ball.

I'd say I was an attacking midfielder, and if you are going to be one of the best, you have to score goals and create them.

I like it when the team is in control of the match. I like very much the ball possession; I like to play in the other half.

There are teams in England who play the football I like, keeping the ball on the ground, playing a quick game with one-twos, pressing their opponents high up the pitch. If one of these clubs were interested in me, I'd adapt to them well, and they could adapt to my way of playing, which isn't so common.

When you're at a club like Liverpool, it's always about what you can do with the ball.

Everyone wants to score goals - that's the point of football - but you have to look at the whole situation in detail.

The position in the middle of the field is the position I'm most comfortable with and where I can improve the most.

I think the first attacker has the ball, starts from the back, you can see everything, and you have to play with the feel of a midfielder, not a goalkeeper.

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