Ernesto Valverde Quotes

Every team has a player like Marco Reus who can make the difference.

Messi is an extraordinary player, but your squad is pivotal: at a World Cup, the 11 players on the pitch and everyone else in the group can all play an important role.

What we really need is for me to get hot and stay hot. When I go, this team really takes off.

Obviously if Gates turns out missing the first game because of this, that's disappointing for everyone in this locker room because he is big part of our team and we don't want to see that happen.

The top players talk more now, and we have more meetings. We're just trying to get things better. But we still need somebody who could make a difference.

Every single player matters. Every single player can change the course of the game.

As a captain and as a player I wanted to lead the team well and score runs, because I know the team still depends on me very much.

In this business, a lot of coaches are running around thinking they're the reason their teams are winning.

As a quarterback, you certainly don't want to hamstring your team in any way because - I know this more than anyone - you rely so heavily on those playmakers around you.

Messi always gets us out of trouble, and we're not going to apologise for having him.

It's obviously important for the English national team if you have a lot of players playing big matches. You are more mature and know how to cope.

There probably isn't another position in all of team sports that I can think of that has the same level of import as the quarterback.

In the 2007 World Cup, Kelly Smith went to another level, scoring twice against Japan and dragging the team forward with an infectious enthusiasm. She changed the dynamic, and we all followed her lead.

If I go on to the pitch, do things well and the fans love me and my team-mates, too, we take on that energy which can change a game.

Suarez and Neymar play the way they play because of him. They are great players but they are made greater by Messi.

OK, Wayne Rooney is always the center of attention, and I always have to answer questions about him. But Wayne is Wayne, and he will always contribute in a game.

Neymar is the most important player in our national team. His absence is felt when he doesn't play. Same holds true for Barcelona. Such is his impact.

The midfield is the heartbeat of a football team, it's the centre of the action, so you can't just do one thing.

It would be worse if I have players who are happy if they sit on the bench, because that doesn't mean that we develop our game.

The number 10 player is the star of the team, and you have more responsibility.

I know it's a team game, but, you know, the great ones can do that - have their team involved and take over a game.

Those types of players are always necessary in a team, who are very creative and can break a game open.

We know Messi is the best in the world. That means he is unpredictable, so you have to keep focused.

Are there things you can do with the rest of your personnel or are things you can do schematically to help a quarterback? I think so. But at the end of the day, that quarterback still has to be a driving force of your team, especially if you want to be a consistent winner over time.

With Messi in the side, we have the chance to win every title.