Al Horford Quotes

I'm just trying to take what the defense gives me.

I always try to go in there and stick to my base, which is the defensive end, and then just let the offense come to me.

I like to be active in space in behind the opposition's midfield. That's where I can hurt the opponent most of all.

I need to play smarter and protect the football.

I stay in the middle and my team-mates can go to attack.

I don't want to become a player who spends half his time running round after the breakdown, because that won't get the best out of me.

Most of the time, you're just trying to be the point guard out there based on the play call and the defense that you're getting; that really dictates where the football goes.

I've got to be smarter with the football.

I try to be a smart quarterback. I'm not the fastest or the best athlete, but if I can know what the defense is doing and stick to my job and what needs to be done I can make the plays needed to move the ball and score.

I don't want to get good at throwing off schedule because I don't want to be off schedule. I want to have my protections to be solid, I want to be in the right play, and I want to get the ball out of my hands as quick as possible.

As I go back and look at the film, if I look at my first year, every time I caught the ball, I was looking to do something.

In high school, you don't play much defense. It's mostly offense. In college, it's vice versa, and that's what I tried to do.

I try to take whatever the defense gives me, have a sense of urgency, know who's guarding me and pick my spots, get my teammates involved and also attack the rim.

For me, I read and react. I think when I have time and space, I'm a threat to score or a threat to make a really nice play.

I have to make sure that we're in the right plays and I can get the ball out quickly and get into our playmakers' hands.

Maybe other managers would see their team score one goal and then prefer to go back and counter-attack, then try to score the second goal. A lot of those managers are the best managers at the moment, but for me, it's very important to continue the way I play.

The most important thing is to help the team to come in front of the goal with one-two passes, I drop down, or I give them space, because for defenders, it's always difficult to have a false nine because they don't have a direct player against them, so they don't know exactly what to do.

I sat down with my agent and went through my youth-team video footage. I saw that when I started, I'd get on the ball and within two touches would turn straight away and look to attack my opponent, but when I got into the first team, I would go for the safer option.

All managers have a different playing style and football philosophy. What's important for players is being able adapt to those different styles.

I'm just trying to make sure if I get the ball in my hands I do something with it.

It's all about controlling the huddle one play at a time and knowing my assignment, knowing my progression and where I've got to go with the ball.

I don't have any secrets. I know my style of football and sometimes it's pretty simple.

Luis Enrique has a clear idea, and the team has understood it perfectly. He asks us to press high up the pitch, to counter quickly when the opposition attacks and try to maximise the space between the lines with the speed we have.

We try and play football in a positive way. Any team has to be defensively organised, but you have to look at the attributes of the players and play to their strengths.

It's a conscious effort for me to be aggressive and take what the defense gives you.