Midfield Control Quotes

I am a central midfielder, and that's where I like to be.

In the defensive midfield position, the player needs to give balance to the team and try to control the game. That's exactly what I try to do.

You look at Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit at Arsenal or Roy Keane at Man United, and they are players that can do everything.

It is impossible to do it for the whole game, but when you have the ball for most of the game and have players like Samir Nasri, David Silva, Yaya Toure, and Raheem Sterling, they keep the ball so well.

If I had a Paul Scholes in my team, everything would be around him. At Manchester United, they saw it like that, but I think Paul Scholes is one of the best I've played against in this league, and seen anywhere.

When Messi has the ball centrally, with time, he has so many options to hurt you.

You watch the game, you don't see Busquets. You watch Busquets, you see the whole game.

I would loved to have played with Scholes. He plays the game the way it should be played and at his peak he was the best midfield player in the world.

People talk about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but you need an Iniesta to win the big titles.

Little things that I've emphasized are turning in pockets and looking to penetrate and finding these spaces and playing at a good tempo when we're in the middle third.

I often felt as a player in a 4-4-2, you end up being outnumbered in midfield and chasing the ball, so as a manager I liked wingbacks to push forward; it gives the midfield player on the ball three or four options.

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

My position is one that brings balance to the team. It's a position where I'm always playing with one or two touches and I keep the rhythm of the play going.

Having a lot of attacking players on the field and a good balance at the back is the foundation of victory.

The No 10 position is my favourite role, and I'm a player who likes to play in between the lines and try and break that midfield line.

My characteristics are to control the game, stay in the middle and organise the team, but I can adapt as well.

As I'm growing up, going into holding midfield, I'm watching Busquets quite a lot for Barcelona. The way he controls the game, his reading of it, technically, defensively - everything about him cuts him out above the rest. I'm really enjoying watching him.

I consider myself as this kind of attacking midfielder, trying to find the gaps between the opposition midfielders and defenders and produce what the team needs between the lines.

The manager might like it sometimes when I play up front because I can cause trouble for the defenders, but for me, my best position is defensive midfield, stopping the opposition, and then looking to impose myself on a game.

For me their biggest threat is when they get into the attacking part of the field.

Firmino is the most decisive player because he comes to play between the lines and opens the spaces to his team-mates.

I am a player who likes to play in between the lines and try to break that midfield line, whether it's when I receive a pass or can go and show everyone what I am about.

In the middle, it gives you lots of options. You can make a run on the right, on the left, deep in the center. It's a big advantage.

Busquets reads everything. Players like Busquets or Xabi Alonso in midfield have the capacity to read the whole game.

Pirlo is a cool customer who does things in his own time. On the pitch, he just looks so relaxed, no matter what is going on around him. He is one of those greats who looks like he could run a midfield with a glass of red wine in one hand.