A Quote by Georginio Wijnaldum

At Under-11/12, I was playing as a right-back. The manager then was Cyril Helstone, and he said to me, 'No, you're not a defender. You should be in midfield.' That was the big change in my career because from that moment until I made my debut in the first-team at Feyenoord, that was the position I played.

Georginio Wijnaldum

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Quote Author

Georginio Wijnaldum
Dutch - Athlete
Born: November 11, 1990

I changed my position when I was 16 or 17. I started in midfield or further forward as a number 10, and then in one tournament, we lost two defenders to injury in the same game, and we didn't have any on the bench. So I played at the back, and the manager of the first team saw me, and he said, 'I want this guy in the first team,' and that was that!

David Luiz

My position is a centre back, but I've played right back before and I started my footballing career as a midfielder. I see myself as a central defender, and I feel most comfortable there.

Victor Lindelof

To be honest, from England Under-16s, through the 17s and 18s, really all the way through my youth career, I played at centre-half. For some reason, when I made my debut at Everton, I just played in central midfield, and it went from there.

Jack Rodwell

I started out as a defender. I played as a full-back, and then I moved into the centre. I played defence right the way through until the Under-18s. Honestly!

Roberto Firmino

My favourite position is in the midfield. I think I can play to my strengths there. I can communicate with every player. I'm more in the game, because as a right-back you have to stay on one side and you're not always in the game for 90 minutes. So I prefer the centre midfield position.

Joshua Kimmich

My favorite position is in the center of the midfield, maybe the defensive midfield. I think I can play this position the best. I played there in my youth all the time, and I like to be in the center of the game because you're never standing still.

Joshua Kimmich

When I was younger, I played as a right-back. I also played as a central defender, but I realised that I could dominate the ball quite calmly, so I started playing further forward in front of the back four.

Roberto Firmino

Once I reached about 14 or 15, I started to steady myself and get into a midfield role and carried that on until I was 17. Then I dropped into right-back, and I have played there ever since.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

I always knew that I wanted to be an actor. I made my debut on stage when I was 12, and I was sure that this is what made me happy. However, nobody takes a 12-year-old's career choice seriously. Everybody laughed it off. I also ran away from it, but acting eventually found me.

Mithila Palkar

I think Barcelona and the Spanish national team have been good for soccer because there are a lot of teams that come up playing from the back : with the goalie, the defense, moving up a defender to midfield, playing attacking soccer. I think fans want to see that. They want to see beautiful soccer, a spectacle, and Barcelona does that.

Xavi

I think Barcelona and the Spanish national team have been good for soccer because there are a lot of teams that come up playing from the back: with the goalie, the defense, moving up a defender to midfield, playing attacking soccer. I think fans want to see that. They want to see beautiful soccer, a spectacle, and Barcelona does that.

Xavi

When I was switching around in my early stages, people underestimated how difficult it was just to go from playing centre midfield to right-back to centre-back to right-back to centre midfield.

Phil Jones

I've said all along from day one centre-back is the position I feel most comfortable in but if I'm asked to play right-back or midfield I'll go and do a job there.

Phil Jones

The manager might like it sometimes when I play up front because I can cause trouble for the defenders, but for me, my best position is defensive midfield, stopping the opposition, and then looking to impose myself on a game.

Marouane Fellaini

This is the United spirit: you can play everywhere. If you want to win, you have to accept it. You can see Antonio Valencia playing right-back as well. Only because United play like a team. The team is the star, not only one player, that’s why you can put me and Michael Carrick at centre-back; we’re going to win because it’s the team effort and team spirit. That’s why I’m confident. I’ve said that from the beginning – in six years playing here – the Man United spirit… no one team has got that spirit. This is United. This is why I’m so proud to play here.