Ball Control Quotes

The archetypal No. 10 is a skillful player who is more interested in being in possession than tracking to get the ball back.

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.

What I can say is that Neymar is a very good player, amazing.

Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso was always bemused by our enthusiasm for tackling, because he saw it as the last resort.

Let me tell you what it is like playing against Messi. You are up against a footballer who can take the ball either side of you, and you have no idea which side that might be from any hint about his body-shape.

A lot of the moves I make originate from futsal. It's played in a very small space, and the ball control is different in futsal. And to this day my ball control is pretty similar to a futsal player's control.

Sadio Mane is a world-class player. He is almost perfect. He moves very fast, controls the ball well and is very intelligent in his movements.

Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is.

Everyone says Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, but I would have love to have played with Luka Modric. I think he's an incredible player, really strong mentally and a pure footballer.

I still play my fast-paced style but when the game slows down it allows you to see the little things - the right passes, where to lay the ball up.

In soccer, you have to be sly.

Ronaldo is brilliant, Messi more my kind of player. He sees the game so clearly. He can score, create; he's the complete player - the best ever, probably.

Lionel Messi is a wonderful player. Very skillful. Highly intelligent. He is not good in the air.

It is very hard to find a good defender who is strong and good with the ball. Very hard.

I always dribble for a reason, and I always head for the goal.

There's got to be a fine line where I can find I'm still throwing the ball how I usually throw it, but it's able to dive down after a certain height and get to the guy.

Any good attacker will always beat a defender who's face-marking you.

Personally, I always try to focus on the little things in my game. As a defender and attacking outside back, I continuously work on completing passes, not being too predictable going forward into the attack, good services into the box, good positioning and footwork.

I like playing deeper, but I'm not Casemiro.

I wasn't the most technical player. But I was fast, and if I push the ball past a player, I can get there. Everyone always made fun of me in a good way for that.

It starts the fast-break a lot easier when I get the ball. I don't have to wait for big men to give me it. Just get it and go.

At Ajax, I got an education in how to be confident on the ball, my technique, and then, at Atletico, I learned how to defend. It was about the details, the ruthlessness; be clinical in front of your own goal, win every duel, be clever. I learned so much and, defensively, I grew there so much.

I do a lot of kicking practice and passing, and it has made a massive difference.

It's not only Van Dijk who can stop Ronaldo. But Ronaldo is good enough to create against really good defenders.

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