Frank Rijkaard Quotes

We discussed buying a defender. The view was the priority at that time given the way we were playing was that we needed support up front and that is why we bought Louis Saha.

Go back through football, and you will see that the team with the best defense wins.

There's two sides to the game, and you have to do the ugly side as well. If you're getting beat, and you're conceding the goals that we're getting beaten by, then it's because you're not defending and shutting people down well enough.

If you have a game where you're under pressure, obviously there are going to be a lot of shots on target, and you're going to make saves, but you can't say you played well in a game where you concede five goals. It's ridiculous.

You can't play man to man against Liverpool and out-pass them. You have to keep your shape and stop them.

At Tottenham, we are just bombing on as wing-backs, but sometimes on the international stage, where there is so much quality, you need to be more careful about the distance between yourself and the right-sided centre-half.

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.

You have to win the title with a strong team and a strong defence, but I don't only like to talk about the four defenders and the goalkeeper when you concede goals. It's about the team.

I recruit defensive players first. That's where most games are won. Then you've got to get the offensive linemen.

When you master all defensive and offensive aspects of the game and always enjoy the majority of possession, you're sitting in pole position to win.

One of the things that makes the best teams in the world the best is the fact that, across midfield and up top, they are capable of hurting you.

When we have a defensive situation in which we are conceding too many goals, it is not just a problem in the defense but the entire team, starting with the coach.

When you play against a Spanish team, especially Madrid, it is quite an open game.

Most teams - whether they like it or not against Manchester City - you're going to find yourself quite often penned in your own half.

The most dangerous area is the centre, which has to be either attacked or defended in football, and it's the same in chess.

Sarri is meticulous, passionate about tactics, he likes to make the team play well.

Harry Kane is a very complicated player to stop.

I think, in general, the coaches in Italy are much more tactical; that's just how the league works.

It's difficult when you play the best teams in the world. You have to be strong as a team and defend and get clean sheets.

It is harder to win Premier League games playing 4-4-2 without having players of the quality the top teams have.

I played Zidane throughout my career, and for many players you reach a point where you learn lessons on how to handle them. But from the first match I played against him to the last, Zidane would find different ways to beat me.

The best place to defend is in the opposition penalty box.

Pochettino likes to play from the back, with the buildup, have the ball.

If you've got a fast and strong defender, on the left, I feel like I can give him trouble going down the line, coming inside, or making runs in behind.

For me, nobody's re-inventing football. We just have to do it better than everybody else.