Ronaldo poised to return as Real target Zurich win

November 25, 2009

Real Madrid have been dreaming of winning this season’s Champions League final at their Santiago Bernabeu stadium but first they need to get out of the group stage and there is still some work to be done going into Wednesday’s home match against FC Zurich.

Real lie joint top of Group C alongside AC Milan but Marseille are just a point behind the duo meaning Real need to defeat bottom side Zurich to put one foot in the knockout phase of this season’s competition.

Real have moved to the top of the Spanish league table with their best start since the 1991/92 season and have a vital match this Sunday in ‘El Clasico’ against Barcelona at Camp Nou but for now Europe is the focus.

“The Barcelona game is coming up but before that we have a key match against Zurich and if we win we can put one foot in the next stage of the Champions League,” explained Dutchman Royston Drenthe.

Real have lost some of their aura at home in Europe in recent seasons losing 3-2 to AC Milan in this season’s competition while Juventus and Liverpool both won at the Bernabeu last season.

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo is on the recovery road after ten games out with ankle trouble and coach Manuel Pellegrini must decide whether to risk the forward, who is the top-scorer in this season’s Champions League with four goals, ahead of the Barcelona match or limit him to a brief run out against Zurich.

“We must go slowly as Cristiano (Ronaldo) has had many days without training,” said former legendary Real striker Emilio Butragueno, now working behind the scenes at the club. “It’s not enough that the ankle is good it must have the necessary reinforcement to compete.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is a great professional, he is a winner and has a commitment to the club and does everything possible to return, but when he returns he cannot have a relapse.”

Despite the absence of Ronaldo, Real have won nine games in 11 games to top the league but coach Pellegrini has still not won over the unforgiving Real crowd who have not been enthralled by the pragmatic winning football which was again on show in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Racing Santander.

“We have to improve the football we are playing,” admitted Pellegrini. “It was difficult against Racing because we had a two-week break and were coming off the back of the Kings Cup defeat (to Alcorcon).”

Pellegrini has shown he is not afraid to make big decisions, leaving captain Raul – the club’s all-time leading goalscorer – on the substitutes’ bench for the last three league matches with Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema favoured in attack.

Raul, now 32, will hope to make an impact against Zurich to stake a claim for a place in the starting line-up against Barcelona.

Swiss side FC Zurich caused a few problems for Real in the away game and need to record a historic win in Madrid to have any chance of reaching the knockout phase as they are four points behind the leaders.

MADRID (AFP)

Tags: ac milan, Barcelona, bottom side, camp nou, captain Raul, champions league, cristiano ronaldo, Drenthe, dutchman, Emilio Butragueno, Europe, group stage, home match, juventus, Karim Benzema, knockout, Liverpool, MADRID, manuel pellegrini, Marseille, Milan, real madrid, reinforcement, relapse, ronaldo, royston drenthe, santander, Santiago, santiago bernabeu stadium, spanish league table, top scorer, ZURICH

Play Fantasy Football manager with Real’s Pellegrini

August 24, 2009

Real Madrid’s 250 million euros spending spree has left new coach Manuel Pellegrini with the kind of headache most managers could only dream of.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Raul Albiol, Alvaro Arbeloa, Esteban Granero and Ezequiel Garay have all been added to a squad that finished second in the league under Juande Ramos last year.

Pellegrini has made the most of pre-season friendlies to experiment with players and lineups, and they have lost only once in their eight warm up games, against Juventus in the Peace Cup. They have netted 22 goals, and conceded just six.

But with only a week to go until Deportivo Coruna visit the Bernabeu for their opening game of the new Primera Liga campaign, the Chilean has yet to make it clear what his best starting 11 will be, and what formation he will play.

There is no debate over the position of goalkeeper, so Iker Casillas is easy to put first on the team sheet.

In defence he can pick from Garay, Arbeloa, Albiol, Pepe, Christoph Metzelder, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo and Miguel Torres. Royston Drenthe has performed well at fullback in the last couple of matches.

Ronaldo, Kaka and Xabi Alonso will be guaranteed a place in midfield which leaves perhaps Lassana Diarra as the fourth component of a traditional 4-4-2. Arjen Robben and Granero have impressed in pre-season games while Fernando Gago, Guti, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and Mahamadou Diarra wait in the wings.

And who to play in attack? Raul has topscored with four in the pre-season friendlies, so the evergreen captain and Benzema? Last season’s top scorer Gonzalo Higuain and the returning Ruud van Nistelrooy complete the choices up front.

Assuming everyone was available, the following 4-2-3-1 formation would be a tasty lineup in front of Casillas. Ramos, Pepe, Albiol and Drenthe at the back, Alonso and Lass Diarra holding the centre midfield, leaving Ronaldo, Kaka, and Robben to support Benzema up front.

Is Pellegrini tough enough to put Raul on the bench or does the fans’ favourite have to start? If you were in the hot seat, who would you play?

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Tags: alvaro arbeloa, arjen robben, christoph metzelder, Drenthe, Esteban Granero, fernando gago, Karim Benzema, lass, MADRID, manuel pellegrini, miguel torres, new primera, pre season friendlies, pre season games, Rafael van der, rafael van der vaart, raul, raul albiol, ronaldo, royston drenthe, ruud van nistelrooy, sergio ramos, spending spree, top scorer, Wesley Sneijder, xabi alonso

Real set to relaunch pursuit of Ribery – report

August 13, 2009

Real Madrid could relaunch their bid to sign Bayern Munich’s French midfielder Franck Ribery by offering two of their Dutch internationals plus 30 million euros to the Bundesliga giants, reports said Thursday.

The Spanish giants said earlier this month their mega pre-season spending spree had ended with the capture of Xabi Alonso from Liverpool.

However sports dailies Marca and AS claim the Spanish giants are desperate to loosen Bayern’s grip on Ribery.

Real failed to sign the French midfield star this summer in the face of stiff opposition from Bayern but Real president Florentino Perez “is still not ruling out Ribery” ahead of the close season transfer deadline on August 31, Marca said Thursday.

Marca and AS said the midfielder, who is keen to join Real, issued a “new challenge” to Bayern by playing for France on Wednesday in a World Cup qualifying match against the Faroe Islands even though he has not played for his club this summer due to injury.

Marca said “the key” to capturing Ribery may be for Real to offer two of their Dutch internationals plus cash to Bayern coach Louis Van Gaal, a Dutchman. Real “would be ready to offer two of its Dutchmen and more than 30 million euros for Ribery,” it said.

Real would thus be able to make “an appetising offer to the German team as the amount would surpass 60 million euros — 30 in cash and a bit more than 30 more for the players released, a figure approaching the 80 million that Bayern was demanding at the start of the summer for Franck Ribery”.

Perez has splashed out over 250 million euros on the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema as he seeks to make the nine-times European champions a formidable force again.

Real are still looking to offload Dutchmen Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Royston Drenthe and Rafael Van der Vaart.

MADRID (AFP)

Tags: arjen robben, Bayern, bayern munich, cristiano ronaldo, Drenthe, Dutchmen, european champions, faroe islands, France, german team, internationals, Karim Benzema, louis van gaal, MADRID, midfield star, Rafael van der, rafael van der vaart, real madrid, ronaldo, royston drenthe, spending spree, stiff opposition, transfer deadline, van der vaart, Wesley Sneijder, xabi alonso

Lyon closing in on Real´s Van Nistelrooy: report

July 2, 2009

MADRID (AFP) – Lyon want to sign Real Madrid’s Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy to replace Karim Benzema who has agreed to join the Spanish giants, sports daily Marca reported on Thursday.

Lyon was initially interested in another Dutch striker, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who has sparked interest from AC Milan, but he refused to join the French side, the newspaper reported.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, then asked his Real counterpart Florentino Perez to try to convince Van Nistelrooy, out injured for most of last season, to join the club, it added.

The 33-year-old, who moved to Real in the summer of 2006, has said he would like to stay on at Real.

But he has fallen down the pecking order at the Bernabeu following the Spanish side’s signings of Brazil’s Kaka and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo in recent weeks.

Van Nistelrooy underwent an operation in November 2008 on his right knee which the club said at the time would sideline him from six to nine months.

The Dutchman has scored 45 league goals for Real, four of them last season before being injured.

He was the top scorer in the league for 2006-07 with 25 goals in 37 matches.

The Spanish press said Perez hopes to sell most of the club’s Dutch players, Aside from Van Nistelrooy and Huntelaar, these are Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder and Royston Drenthe.

Tags: ac milan, bernabeu, cristiano ronaldo, Drenthe, dutchman, french side, jean michel aulas, Jean-Michel, kaka, Karim Benzema, klaas jan huntelaar, LA Liga, league goals, Ligue 1, Lyon, MADRID, marca, Milan, pecking order, portugal, Rafael van der, rafael van der vaart, real madrid, royston drenthe, ruud van nistelrooy, spanish press, spanish side, top scorer, van der vaart, Van Nistelrooy, Wesley Sneijder

Van Nistelrooy still hopes to play at Real

May 28, 2009

MADRID (AFP) – Real Madrid’s Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy, out injured since last November, says he hopes to play next season, although the team’s prospective new management may have other ideas.

“I have another year left on my contract and I am very happy. There isn?t a doubt in my mind that I will stay. I will get better and I will play again at the Santiago Bernabeu” stadium, he said on the club’s website.

“The team?s pre-season begins around the middle of July, and if everything goes as planned I hope to be back in action with the squad in August. I am so anxious to return.”

Van Nistelrooy, who turns 33 in July, underwent an operation in November 2008 on his right knee. The club said he would be out for six to nine months.

The Dutchman, transferred from Manchester United in 2006, has scored 45 goals in league for Real, four of them this season before being injured.

He was the top scorer in the league for 2006-07 with 25 goals in 37 matches.

Elections for a new president of Real are scheduled for June 14, with former head Florentino Perez currently the only candidate.

The Spanish press said Perez hopes to sell most of the club’s Dutch players, Aside from Nistelrooy, these are Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder, Royston Drenthe, Arjen Robben and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.