One thing was crystal clear to me: if you're centre-back, you first of all have to perform your task.
— Frank Rijkaard
I made Edgar Davids vice-captain. Nothing to do with colour, just because he was playing excellently and because he lives like an athlete.
Someone said that my coaching is a combination of Milan's defensive discipline and the Dutch propensity for attacking football, and I think that is a fair description.
How can you judge a man until you come face to face?
I have a great deal of respect for Sir Alex Ferguson. He has done a great job. Without any doubt, he is one of the best and most influential around. He is the embodiment of football.
We can be confident about our qualities, but the qualities need something to come out.
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.
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.
I always had much respect for Rudi Voller.
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.
I am completely uninterested in playing beautiful football if the team doesn't 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.
When it's a clash between two big teams, you know your players will concentrate.
It's always the losers who are complaining about a result.
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?
The Dutch public always wants to see a team that is trying to be dominant, trying to play attractive football, and after that, hopefully, a team that is winning.
We have to remember, Mourinho worked at Barcelona. He has good memories of Barcelona. The club did well when he was here.
The situation with Anders Frisk is clear: he was threatened by the supporters of Chelsea, and he retired because he was in fear. This is serious.
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.
The goal is always to win.
My aim is to get the team to work hard and stay strong together.
I try to stay in the moment.
You always need to have the highest respect for your opponents. If you see them fighting, you know you have to give something extra.
In the end, every coach wants the same - that's to win.
There are coaches with habits you don't like, and you tell yourself, 'I don't want to be like that.' But there's no one way to success.
I see a lot of fouls on Messi, and he's not the type to overreact.
Without a doubt, it is easier to produce a defensive soccer team, because it does not need you to have talent for it but simply to be well organised.
