Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
If you look at the difference games between the bigger and smaller teams, the difference in concentration, and being passive is big; that is my opinion.
As a football player, you must have a big ego to respect yourself. So if you are a good player, you must say that you are good. You need to have the confidence.
For Feyenoor,d the biggest game is Ajax, but if Sparta are going to play for the title, then that will be the biggest game. It depends how both teams are doing.
I wanted to be a gymnast when I was young - I used to do backflips and all those things in the street and at home - but my grandma said it was dangerous and made me stop.
PSG wanted to sign me. For me, it was confirmation that I am on the right track and was in a good spell. My heart told me I had to stay at PSV where I still have things to achieve.
We play for Liverpool. It is always our intention to win. All the players here want to compete at the top and win. The manager does not have to say to us, 'We want to win a trophy.'
Van Gaal is a teacher, pays attention to everything you do, but Hiddink is more linked to the players. He gives more freedom than Van Gaal, but I worked with both of them pretty well.
Liverpool will always buy good players, even if they already have good players. That's normal. I think it has to be normal for a club like Liverpool because that means you're a big club.
Before I signed for Liverpool, I was playing for Newcastle as a No. 10 - basically, I was always attacking. I didn't have to do much defensive work; I didn't play as the No. 6 or the No. 8.
I was only one year at Newcastle, but that time there meant a lot to me. I met some great people who helped me to play good games in the Premier League, and it was because of them I got the move to Liverpool.
I'm quite a shy person, but I know I'm a good football player. That's just the way I am. That's the way I grew up. My grandmother brought me up, and she is the same way. She's understated, but she knows what she's worth.
There were loads of managers who said, 'You have to concentrate on being a winger because you have more potential there.' But I was like, 'You can say what you want, but I'm a midfielder, and I know what's the best for me.'
I think if you think that far ahead about the first four, or to be champions, that is something you cannot control. You can control the training, and then the performance will come game by game, and do not think that far ahead.
I only worked with Rafa Benitez for a short time, but he's a great manager, and he showed it from the first moment he came. He worked with the players and made us a better team. He's a good person, always trying to help players out.
As a player, I have this feeling - and I think every player thinks this - that I am responsible for how my team-mates feel. I just want to do my best and give 100 per cent, and if I do that, they will feel better and think, 'I will give 100%.'
I have to be honest: in my career, I've really had to fight to come in the middle again. A lot of managers told me, 'You are way more comfortable as a winger than as a midfielder,' but I always kept my trust and confidence in what I knew about my qualities.
I think I've shown I have the defensive discipline to play deep as the No.6 and start the build ups with my passing. I can also play higher up the pitch and make a difference in the opposition area. Being able to do both has helped me to play so many games.
I remember my last game for Newcastle in the pre-season, when their fans were singing that they wanted me to stay, but when the opportunity came to play for a great club like Liverpool with such a great history, I had to take it. I hope they understand why I made that choice to go to Liverpool.
At Under-11/12, I was playing as a right-back. The manager then was Cyril Helstone, and he said to me, 'No, you're not a defender. You should be in midfield.' That was the big change in my career because from that moment until I made my debut in the first-team at Feyenoord, that was the position I played.
At seven, I played centre-back. When you're so young, though, it's more to enjoy the training and to get a feel for the game. It's not heavy on tactics of a position. We were playing on a half pitch, seven against seven or eight against eight, so they say you're a centre-back, but it's not like the real definition.
He gave me a lot of confidence because he said he liked my way of playing football. He said I was a person he really wanted to have in his squad. Something like that is always good to hear. It made me happy, especially as it came from such a great trainer like Jurgen Klopp. He showed how good he is at Dortmund with all the success he had.