I try to be this kind of player: the type who does something whenever he gets the ball. Sometimes in the past, I've gone through games where I've not touched the ball for 20 or 30 minutes.
When you play a match, it is statistically proven that players actually have the ball 3 minutes on average ... So, the most important thing is: what do you do during those 87 minutes when you do not have the ball. That is what determines wether you're a good player or not.
The fun part of golf is the variety of shots. In football you can do anything with a ball, but you can do anything with a golf ball as well. When you hit a shot and the ball does exactly what you want it to do ... that's wonderful. It's just great when you hit the ball well. You should always try not to make the ball cry.
The fundamentals, what I want, which is to take the ball, try to play as offensive as possible and dominate the game through the ball, is the same. I grew up with that; I was a player with that idea, and I am a coach with that idea.
Yelling doesn't win ball games. It doesn't put any points on the scoreboard. And I don't think words win ball games all the time. Players do. Preparation does.
I've never been one to go past 20 players on the wing. I'm always going to be the guy sneaking the ball through, to build and create something.
Sometimes when I play on the wing, I have to remind myself to stay out wide because I tend to naturally drift in towards the ball. I try to get on the ball and make something happen.
One thing I always loved about vinyl was the length of a side, around 20 or 22 minutes. That's the perfect length of an attention span for listening time, you know? You could listen and give it all your attention. Put on something that's 70 minutes, and nobody's sticking around past the first 20 or 30 minutes.
If you look at Dele, he does everything. He wants the ball into feet. Sometimes he'll run in behind; sometimes he'll get the ball in the box - he's all energy. He does everything.
As a player you do kind of see you might need to get something going. Maybe it's diving on the ball, diving on the floor for a loose ball. Or maybe it's something that'll just energize the team, a lob dunk or a great pass or a great defensive play or an open shot, anything.
The advent of so much dribbling has created a different kind of player, and it starts at a very early age. We have so many gifted ball handlers. Everything is pick-and-roll. Unless he's a catch-and-shoot guy, a player is going to put it on the floor and attack. Kevin Durant is a wonderful ball handler.
When I see Messi - who is the best player in the world in my opinion - lose the ball, he runs off until he gets it back or commits a foul. Our guys lose the ball and fold their arms.
I am a relaxed guy. I play that way, and I can't change my style. I watch games and see guys who panic on the ball - they look so nervous. I can be calm, because I sometimes know what I want to do before the ball comes to me.
All I can do is do my best work, try to create the best kind of moment to moment reality that I can do. That's what I do. I'm an actor. And all the rest of it is like baseball. You hit the ball. Sometimes it goes in the hole. Sometimes it goes to the player.
I want the ball for 90 minutes. When I don't have the ball, I go high pressing because I want the ball.
I believe in my heart I'm the best player in the world. I'm just a scorer. I try to put the ball in the basket for my team. I'm just confident in my ability to play ball.
On crosses, sometimes I make my move one or two seconds before the ball is coming because I'm trying to guess that the ball is coming there. It's intuition. So I run. Sometimes the ball comes...sometimes not. But that intuition is working.