Edgar Davids Quotes

You need to beat a defender when you have the ball. You need to be able to successfully pass to a team-mate, and there are other attributes needed to be the complete player.

Every good, successful player, especially an attacking player, has a well-developed sense of space and time.

When I play, I like to use my pace and to link up with my team-mates.

For me, good football is not about how many skills you show or how many players you beat. It's about making the right decision every time you have the ball.

I try to have a picture when I receive the ball and know where everyone is. That's one of the most important things for a midfielder.

As a player, you are more concerned with the moments when you have possession of the ball or are about to receive the ball. You are watching your team-mates and trying to decide what the possibilities are.

If you're playing for five hours you don't want to score goals all the time and I loved dribbling. I could score a goal, but I preferred to dribble.

I feel good doing it. It's not like guys are stripping me at half-court or I'm just losing the ball dribbling. I think I'm handling the ball pretty well, just trying to make good passes, man.

I think that everyone should be able to dribble. Everyone should be able to pass. Otherwise, why are you out there?

It's not enough just being a good passer of the ball.

By playing in the street, the level of Asian football can absolutely improve, as you will get more technical players. They will be quicker, more creative, and after succeeding in the street, it will be a piece of cake for them to do well eleven a side.

Before I came to Barcelona, I only thought about one facet of the game: destroying. My qualities were completely defensive, and I wouldn't take responsibility for organising my team's game, our attacks.

If I have the ball in my hands, I'll make a play. If don't, I'll try to get in position to make a play. I think that's what it comes down to.

I like to control the ball and analyse the game.

Carrying the ball is one of the strongest points in my game and I like to be a danger on the pitch.

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

It is up to me to adapt and to continue to surprise with my positioning, the timing of my runs, the trajectories, when I call for the ball.

I always play football in my team, and I know that if you play too much long ball, then it's difficult.

Street football features all the basics of football: you get a lot of touches on the ball, it is fast, teaches you to think quickly and to be creative.

In international football, you need pace and you need your players up top to create things out of nothing and run at people.

Soccer is simple, but it is difficult to play simple.

For me football is more about making the right pass at the right time.

When you get into the game you've got be thinking, when I get into the attacking third I'm gonna be freakin' creative.

There's a tipping point that happens with soccer in which you just kinda get it. I was drawn to it because the best soccer teams play similarly to my favorite basketball teams - like the eighties Lakers or eighties Celtics - teams that emphasized teamwork over individualism and relied on passing as their biggest ongoing edge.

Rather than opera, football is more like ballet or a chess game. You can really see it in a team like Arsenal, especially when Dennis Bergkamp was playing. He seemed to be able to read the game like a chessboard and knew where a player would be several seconds later and put the ball there for him.