A biography for Frank Rijkaardhasn’t been written yet.
“The goal is always to win.”
“In the end, every coach wants the same - that's to win.”
“There is a part of football I would describe as 'serious' and one part I would describe as more 'playful,' i.e. more technical.”
“As a young centre-back at Ajax, I played with Wim Jansen, and of course you learn a huge amount. I made some mistakes, because we Dutchmen want to solve situations by playing football. So we look at the ball, try to judge where it will come.”
“With every coach you work with, you learn something. Then, at the end of your career, when you become a trainer, you take something from every coach that you think is useful for you.”
“When it's a clash between two big teams, you know your players will concentrate.”
“Ronaldinho is another special player, probably amongst the most talented players I have worked with. At Barcelona, he was outstanding.”
“You have to score one goal more than your opponents. That's the most important thing.”
“A team like Barcelona always has targets, and that's quite normal.”
“I have no desire to be 60 years old and standing on the side of the pitch.”
“After your career, you go to matches, and you see so many unnecessary goals because a person is just looking where the ball is and not his opponent. Well, a ball alone has never scored a goal.”
“Players are sometimes sad, sometimes happy during their sporting career.”
“The evolution of football has seen a reduction in the space between the teams. It is therefore important for the modern footballer to react and be quicker than in the past, because there is more happening in the restricted space.”
“Mourinho is very intelligent; he knows what he's doing. He has the right to act like he wants to act, and he's very successful with it, so who am I to criticise him?”
“Everyone has his own form, and I never had any problems with Mourinho.”
“I can work with a lot of different mentalities.”
“If someone is quite tall, the people will sing songs about his height. We don't have to overreact. You just have to do your job.”
“The differences between the top teams in Euro 2000 are so minimal that I think you have to be very clever in defence and stop your opponents getting opportunities.”
“You always need to have the highest respect for your opponents. If you see them fighting, you know you have to give something extra.”
“I was once in charge of the Dutch team - and then I was introduced to club football!”