How many times have you seen me run into the box with the ball, dribbling past players? It's uncommon because it's not my game; it's not my thing.

At Liverpool, I used to read the match day programme, and you'd read an interview with a lad from the youth team. They'd ask age, heroes, strong points, etc. He'd reply, 'Shooting and tackling.' I can't get into my head that football development would educate tackling as a quality, something to learn, to teach, a characteristic of your play.

I don't try to do things that might make me look stupid, because the risk is there.

Xabi Alonso Quotes