Michael Strahan Quotes

And when the pressure was on us, the team handled it very well. One has to learn to play well under pressure.

Great execution. That's what you have to do when you're playing great teams.

It's like I was taught and I'm always saying it. Offense wins games, defense wins championships.

Number three, we're going to play very smart and we're not going to beat ourselves. If the other team is better than us and they just out execute us and play better then we can live with that, but we're going to play smart and give ourselves every opportunity to win the game.

The best evaluation I can make of a player is to look in his eyes and see how scared they are.

As a kid, I used to see how Sachin Tendulkar used to win matches under pressure for India in Sharjah or other places. So I was always keen to repeat the same in similar situations. I don't take pressure on myself when I am in the middle. I love pressure, and I always believe that pressure makes you more focused.

During a tournament, I'm not thinking about mechanics at all. I'm in scoring mode.

We talked about some of our experiences, focusing, hanging together down the stretch, important games. It's not necessarily who has the most talent but what team sticks together and executes their fundamentals the best.

I played Mary Joe Fernandez in the semifinals. She was winning the first set. Second set was very close. I started to play this aggressive game. I think I surprised them.

The team that is going to win is the one that does its homework the best by studying its opponents.

The pressure makes me more intent about each shot. Pressure on the last few holes makes me play better.

The team which handles the pressure best, carries the day.

When you're playing the best player in the world, you've got to play well.

There are two real keys to winning. You've got to have good players: no coach won with bad players. You win with good players. That is number one. Number two is, when we are playing, let's say we are playing Michigan, and they had a really good press: we've got to solve that press.

My concentration with players is the next match, focus only to work for the next match and how we can win.

As a player, you have to focus on the match and not too much on the surroundings.

When I'm on the field, I'm locked in, focused on my job. I try to have a positive play and try to get points on the board.

Learning how to win comes with switching the onus of pressure away from yourselves and then seizing your moment.

We try not to let pressure get into our heads and play the way we usually do.

Every striker has to have that edge. When they are not scoring, or when the team is losing, they explode.

Concentration and focus - they are very important, just as important as in anything, I suppose, if you're going to succeed. I've seen a lot of good players on the training ground, but when it comes to the game, they can't keep the same levels up on a Saturday.

How well a team executes its plans is important, but I think keeping nerves under pressure is far more important in the knockout stage.

Great players are very good technically, but they also have a huge amount of character because, without it, you will never get to see that great technique because it vanishes under pressure.

I can't be getting off my game. I need to be getting teams off their games.

I think you can develop your ability to be clutch, if that's the word that you will use, your ability to focus and to be able to block out all the external stuff.