Manuel Pellegrini Quotes

The only thing I would like is to have more control of the game in terms of possession.

Technical players make the game easy. They have a view of the pitch different from other players. They put the last pass for the strikers. They are the players that lose two or three balls in a year.

I always try and get as many as touches as I can with the ball because that's the most important thing for me as a player is to feel comfortable in that way.

The most important thing is to be a midfielder first, not scoring goals. You have to make the game, make an assist for the team, and if you can score, it's a plus for the team.

When you build a team, and you have 24 or 25 players, all can be decisive; can be important.

I liked mostly to play football on the ground and have a little bit of playing tactics rather than just up and down, long balls and second balls. That's not really my game.

All coaches say, 'We want to control the game. We want the ball. Blah, blah, blah, blah,' but it's impossible to have the ball all the time.

Guardiola likes footballers who can pass the ball, who have eyes for the best position and the right runs.

I like to control the ball and analyse the game.

I'd say my main quality is keeping the ball and my passing.

Dominating the midfield is the most important thing in modern football. To succeed, you have to be good at everything.

Every footballer enjoys having the ball at their feet. There are times in training you find yourself without the ball. I enjoy that side of it as well. If we can spend more time working with the ball then everyone will enjoy it.

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

You watch Silva, and he almost never gives the ball away. He is always looking, thinking, making the right calls.

I experienced that the ball is the most important thing. When you have the ball, the other team really can't do anything.

Circulation of the ball is important, but it's only useful if you can give it to someone who can make the difference.

A lot of people, when a guy scores a lot of goals, think, 'He's a great player', because a goal is very important, but a great player is a player who can do everything on the field. He can do assists, encourage his colleagues, give them confidence to go forward. It is someone who, when a team does not do well, becomes one of the leaders.

Like I always say, it's not how many great plays you make; it's how few bad ones you make. I know fans, and even some losing coaches, are enamored with long pass completions or the great run plays, but that doesn't offset the interception or the fumble.

A particular shot or way of moving the ball can be a player's personal signature, but efficiency of performance is what wins the game for the team.

The way children are taught football doesn't encourage skill; the focus is on other areas.

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

In football, you don't hold on to the ball just to hold on to the ball. When you have it you need to be dangerous, create opportunities and score goals. And when you don't, you make sure the opposition doesn't.

I've never seen a Barca without control of the game. I've never seen a Barca that doesn't have the ball and lets the opposition attack all the time.

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.

I'm not someone who can do 10 stepovers or backheels - I'm not very interested in that. I'm more fascinated by the simplicity of play because the thing that makes this sport so beautiful.