The midfielder sat down for an interview with <em>Publico</em> and talked about his role as the team's central midfielder.</strong></p> <strong>You were signed to organise a team formed by Cristiano, Kaka, Benzema, Lass, Raul… How will you do it?</strong>
One player on his own can’t do it; it’s up to the whole team to organise itself and have a collective awareness. We’re still in the preseason and adapting to the coach’s ideas.
<strong>And those ideas are…</strong>
Keeping possession, controlling the pace of the game, being dynamic in offense…
<strong>How can you tell when it’s time to play quickly or to calm down?</strong>
It depends on what the teams needs at each moment of the game. A match sometimes gets out of hand, and you feel you must slow it down and hold possession for longer instead of rushing into the opponent’s goal.
<strong>How much time will it take for the team to make the ball flow easily?</strong>
It takes time for the players to adapt to each other. There’s no way of knowing how long it will take.
<strong>Kaka, Cristiano and Benzema play better with open spaces, don’t they?</strong>
Yes, they can take advantage of their powerful pace, but there will be many games where the opponents will wait for us in defence, especially at the Bernabeu. We have to find a way of breaking through the defence without making use of wide open spaces.
<strong>What is Pellegrini looking for when he includes Pepe in midfield?
</strong>Pepe is a powerful player, good at recovering the ball and strong in one-on-ones. He's not bad as midfielder.
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
- Youth Football Plays For Your Team
- Fire Play Between Rugby Teams
- "We must play as a team"Alonso
- Making the Right Plays in Basketball
- Nfl Situation Spotlight - #89: Teams With a Straight-up Winning % (su Wp) >= .600
- College Soccer: Plays for Defense
- Your Team's Most Pivotal Point of the Season - Now
- Team Building - Freedom In The Framework
Watch Soccer World Cup Live Online
By: Kevin Phillips | 21/11/2009If you want to watch the 2010 FIFA World Cup live online, take a minute to check out this premiere online software.
Will Liverpool lose its big four tag
By: Michael | 21/11/2009When the freshness of a season ends and a team is not able to replicate the remarkable performance it had the previous season then it calls for an urgent measure. It’s now a well-known fact that Liverpool has lost the touch and they are on a downward spiral.
Will Guss Hiddink return to England
By: Michael | 20/11/2009The EPL action returns this weekend after the very last break of the world cup qualifying matches that ended on a very controversial note thanks to, ‘The Hand Thiery Henry.
World Cup Qualifier- France qualifies to the World Cup by beating Ireland
By: Audrey Nolan | 20/11/2009France qualified for the World Cup after beating the Republic of Ireland with an overall 2-1, with a draw in the second leg 1-1. The game took place in the Stade de France on Wednesday. The match took a dramatic turn when France, stuck behind Ireland 1-0 for most of the match, scored a questionable goal after an illicit move by Thierry Henry during the extra time.
MLS - Real Salt Lake will face Galaxy in the Grand Finale
By: Stephen Lars | 20/11/2009With determination and grit, the Real Salt Lake has managed to shine in the final stage of the 2009 MLS season. After a sound regular performance during the course of the season, the RSL rallied at the end, demonstrating that they were a team capable of increasing the level of play. They’ve got all the qualities they need to win the tournament at the end of the season in their first qualification for the MLS Cup.
Sebastien Frey
By: SOCCERPROPICK.COM | 20/11/2009Star players are now not only be a role model for children - children, but also the echoes in the act. Conscious or not, the players seemed to really enjoy this condition. They called a hero and all things associated with him must be quickly imitated by fans. But not all players will drift off of this, one of the players who pay attention to this important is Sebastien Frey.
Andrei Sergeyevich Arshavin
By: SOCCERPROPICK.COM | 20/11/2009Name Andrei Arshavin shot during Euro 2008 tournament. However, it does not mean he necessarily changed the nature. He was known as a very cool player. There is one story. When playing in the Russian League, he's way through the mixed-zone, chewing an apple, do not heed the journalists who gathered there, which was certainly waiting for word two words from him. Arshavin away from it all. But he could not repeat in court the next day. He tried to escape but the press officer and ...
It Happened Back In 1997
By: Luke Schafli | 20/11/2009Recounting one of the most talked about free-kicks in all of soccer, and relating it to strategy and tactics in the game of chess.
"We must play as a team"Alonso
By: Ojetokun Oladapo | 05/11/2009 | SoccerThe midfielder sat down for an interview with Publico and talked about his role as the team's central midfielder. You were signed to organise a team formed by Cristiano, Kaka, Benzema, Lass, Raul… How will you do it? One player on his own can’t do it; it’s up to the whole team to organise itself and have a collective awareness. We’re still in the preseason and adapting to the coach’s ideas.