Ribéry primarily plays as a winger and is described as a player who is "fast, tricky, and an excellent dribbler who has great control with the ball at his feet".[1] Despite being predominantly right-footed and utilised as a right-sided midfielder during his development years in France, since establishing himself as an international and at Bayern Munich, Ribéry has personally admitted that his preference is to play on the left wing, even going as far as to state, "My place is on the left" when asked at a February 2010 media session while on international duty.[228] Although he is often played on the left wing domestically, Ribéry has struggled to establish himself as a left winger at the international level with France due to the presence of left-footed dominant players such as Florent Malouda.[229] Ribéry has declared that he is best utilised on the left side because "that is where I am most free and I am the best in my head".[230] Playing on the left also allows Ribéry to use his "bursts of acceleration and weaving runs" to effectively cut inside, which allows him to take on opponents, exploit spaces, and gives him the options of either shooting on goal with his stronger foot or delivering a decisive pass.[231][232][233] Ribéry is also capable of playing in the centre of the field as an attacking midfielder, where his vision, precise passing, technique, and playmaking skills are best exhibited;[8][234][235][236][237] he has also been deployed as a central midfielder on occasion.[238] Despite predominantly playing on the wing, Ribéry is known to be an excellent assist provider: during his 12 seasons with Bayern Munich, he amassed 124 assists in the Bundesliga;[14] moreover, he averaged double-digits in assists every year beginning with his final season at Marseille.[citation needed] In addition to his skills, eye for goal, and playing ability, he has also drawn praise in the media over his defensive work-rate, tenacity, mentality, and energetic playing style.[2][187][232][239]