Defend Quote by Samir Nasri

Italians work hard physically and tactically.

— Marcos Alonso

Italy do not only defend; they can attack, too. They have attacking qualities, and they create chances.

— Julen Lopetegui

The Italians are very strong defensively. They showed in Euro 2000 how good defensively they are.

— Alan Hansen

The Italian one is the toughest league of all for the attackers.

— David Trezeguet

It's a big challenge for a defender to prove yourself in a country like Italy as a non-Italian.

— Matthijs de Ligt

From a player's point of view, you can learn a lot in Italy tactically.

— Antonio Rudiger

Italians can't win the game against you, but you can lose the game against the Italians.

— Johan Cruijff

We Italians need to feel like we're under pressure, we need to see an enemy.

— Gianluca Vialli

Playing against an Italian team is harder than all the other leagues. The Italians won't score lots of goals, but they won't concede many,…

— Paul Pogba

I have been fascinated by the Italian way of defending from an early age.

— Matthijs de Ligt

The defenders in Italy are stronger, and that makes me better. Serie A is played in a different way to other leagues.

— Gonzalo Higuain

Italy are a very difficult team to play against. They have good defensive qualities.

— Julen Lopetegui