Marco van Basten

“I think it's strange to change the turf three days before a match.”

“I can train players and talk about football. But losing as a manager was so painful, I couldn't live with it.”

“I don't like friendly matches.”

“It is hard to play 10 against 11, let alone with eight or nine.”

“Rooney has to remember he is an icon and an example to youth.”

“The truth is that if you don't buy, improving the squad becomes difficult.”

“I had nice years at Ajax, wonderful years with Milan, and won something with the national team.”

“Football should be a pleasure.”

“The 'play fair!' iniative is a plan for football. This strategy aims to promote fairness and integrity, ensure the game is accessible to everyone and optimise the use of technology.”

“Johann was one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He could do everything. I'm not at that level. I'm more of a classic attacker, a penalty-area player. And after a while, I realized that this was how I could best help my team.”

“Chelsea have become a big club and have massive financial resources.”

“Ronaldo is a great player. But those who claim that he is stronger than Messi do not understand football or are in bad faith.”

“I saw Cruyff at 36 and the way he played was interesting because he was so quick to understand situations. Football can still be very nice at that age because even though you are not as strong or as quick, you can still see things that others see two seconds later.”

“In football you need opponents, competition because if you are alone with two or three clubs controlling everything you don't have any competition.”

“Sacchi was a good coach. He wanted to play pressure football. The good thing was that he created a good group with lots of discipline. Working together was the key. You had to do your work to help the team and that was all important.”

“It's not easy being the first man as a trainer.”

“I'd like to help the professional game to get it more exciting, more spectacular, more honest also.”

“If you can score a lot of goals in Italy, you can do it in the Champions League as well.”

“Xavi is a super player, but along with that, he likes being with his family.”

“Am I too critical on Torres and Drogba because I used to be a striker myself? I don't think so.”