Real Madrid Galacticos

Real Madrid vs Malaga

Posted on 08. Nov, 2008 by Borris Becker in General

Raul's header wasn't enough against Almeria. Can Real Madrid pick themselves up this time?

I am going to make this one real quick (for the obvious reasons. Real Madrid simply have to win this match , no matter what, no matter what. Otherwise, I think it will be a sack for Schustere (and Yes I am being too pejorative over here).

Real Madrid Team News

Arjen Robben is out for six weeks after suffering a second degree muscle tear in his right calf during the warm-up for the Juventus game. Right! so nothing new there.

Sergio Ramos, meanwhile, picked up a foot injury during the match itself and he was now certain to miss the Málaga clash just a few hours ago but now has JUST made it to the squad.
Also sidelined is striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who aggravated his knee problem in midweek.

Pepe, on the other hand, was making good progress in recuperating from the bruised left thigh he sustained last weekend at Almería, but is now definitely out because, he has not resumed normal training with the rest of the squad
yet.

Rubén de la Red is expected to be omitted again to ensure he recovers fully from his black-out episode a week-and-a-half ago.

Youth system player
Bernd Schuster called up Castilla striker Alberto Bueno, who’s scored seven goals in the Second Division B this season. Fast and intelligent, the 15 year old player resembles Raúl when he was younger. He is motivated and anxious to make his First Division debut.
Goalkeepers
Casillas, Dudek
Defenders
Míchel Salgado, Sergio Ramos, Cannavaro, Marcelo, Heinze, Metzelder
Midfielders
Diarra, Gago, Sneijder, Guti, Drenthe, Van der Vaart, Javi García
Forwards
Raúl, Saviola, Higuaín, Alberto Bueno

Recent Form

Real Madrid

Nov 05 Real Madrid 0-2 Juventus (CHAMPIONS LEAGUE)

Nov 02 UD Almería 1-1 Real Madrid (LA LIGA)

Oct 30 Real Unión 3-2 Real Madrid (COPA DEL REY)

Oct 26 Real Madrid 3-2 Athletic Bilbao (LA LIGA)

Oct 21 Juventus 2-1 Real Madrid (CHAMPIONS LEAGUE)

Málaga

Nov 01 Málaga 1-4 Barcelona (LA LIGA)

Oct 29 Málaga 1-1 Real Mallorca (COPA DEL REY)

Oct 26 Sevilla 0-1 Málaga (LA LIGA)

Oct 19 Málaga 2-1 Getafe (LA LIGA)

Oct 05 Recreativo Huelva 0-4 Málaga (LA LIGA)

More

Real Madrid have now lost three of their last five competitive games, picking up only one win in the process. Although they remain unbeaten in La Liga since the opening day loss at Deportivo La Coruña, last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Almería was greeted with disgust not only by us fans but also poignantly by the players themselves, some of whom have willingly admitted that the team are struggling to perform at present.

The next few weeks are going to be interesting as Real Madrid will have to win everything from now till December to have chance of having a good season.

We have two must win games against Zenit and BATE. In La Liga Real Madrid has to go through Malaga today. Then we will have to overcome a deficit of one goal in Copa Del Ray against Real Union.

And then it is the Grand Daddy of them all, EL CLASICO against Barcelona on 14 Dec and if we consider both teams on current form. Barcelona will win that match by 5-0 if Messi does not play.

Barcelona has been dismantling every side that dares to step on the field against them but then again, may be Barcelona is just going through a purple match which SHOULD end when they face Real Madrid.

PREDICTION

If Real Madrid fail to perform inside the first 45 minutes, expect the Bernabéu to be blanketed by white handkerchiefs by half-time.

There is a great danger of getting booed by the home fans again if Real Madrid don’t perform will tonight. We don’t wan JUST a win. We want a thrashing. 5-0, to satisfy the gans. 2-0 is not going to do it this time Schuster.

This is one of those games where the Real Madrid have to turn on the style to win any kind of approval and applause from the die-hard fans like myself.

Here are some interviews

Guti

You will face Malaga at the Bernabéu. Could it be a difficult game?

It could, especially if we don’t concentrate. Every player focuses hard in games against strong sides like Juventus and it sometimes proves difficult to concentrate as hard in the following match, especially if it takes place soon after. The game against Malaga will be very important for us and we’ll have to do our best to stay focused. We know we threw away our chance to take more points in Almeria. We can’t afford to let that happen at home.

Malaga lost against Barcelona last week, but they are nevertheless having a great run…

I watched their previous match and they played rather well, but Barcelona have quality players and managed to win. Malaga are a solid team in defence and they have fast forwards that can be lethal in counterattacks.

Do you think it’s detrimental for you to face the same teams Barcelona plays against the previous week?

I don’t know why it should be. It’s true that after a defeat players are usually more motivated to win the following fixture, but I think the mere fact of facing Real Madrid is enough to motivate any player.

In nine weeks, four teams are only two points apart in the top part of the table, but people nevertheless say Barcelona will surely win the championship. What do you think of that?

We shouldn’t make too much of it. It may even be good for us not to be centre of attention. It is easier to do our job when people don’t consider us to be favourites. We won the previous two league titles and at first it seemed we wouldn’t be able to win one of them. It’s still too soon to know what will happen. We are the defending champions and we’ll do our best to keep the title.

Fernando Sanz is Malaga’s President. You played with him in the past. Do you think you’ll ever have a job like his?

I don’t know… I don’t think so. I can’t picture myself in a job like that.

You recently recovered from an injury. How do you feel?

I feel fine. It’s always hard to get used to training and playing games again after an injury, but I’m getting there. I want to help the team as much as I can. Besides being able to train, the most important thing is to be able to play. Things get complicated when you don’t.

You were injured right at the start of the season, when you were getting back in form. Do you think you may suffer from this?

On the contrary, I think being injured right at the beginning will help me be in better form at the end of the campaign. The season is very long and I hope I don’t get injured again. It’s very important for a player to have continuity on his team.

What do you expect to achieve this season?

I hope the team plays as well as it did last year. I hope we fight for the league title until the very end of the season and I would like us to do better in the Champions League. That would make us stronger. Defeating tough opponents in the European competition helps you perform better in the league.

Schuster

How is Ruud van Nistelrooy?
All I can say is that he will not play tomorrow. They’ve run some tests, and as far as I know he isn’t available.

Malaga have been in good form lately.
They were until they played Barcelona, a match in the rain and a very wet pitch. They are a feisty team who can create a lot of danger. This is a league match we have to win to maintain our position.

How do you feel about taking the blame for mistakes made by others?
I don’t see it like that. I have the same responsibility that I had last year. I have complete faith in my team. We may hit some rough patches just like we did last year, but we have to overcome them because this is Real Madrid. There has only been one match we weren’t able to win.

What was it like inside the dressing room after the Juventus match?
As Real Madrid players we are used to winning, and it really affects us when we don’t. The score was disappointing at first, but things change after a few days. We control our own destiny and don’t depend on anyone else. We lost two matches against a good rival, but we are still very much alive. This is all water under the bridge, and now we must think about our upcoming league and King’s Cup matches.

Are you going to ask for any new players with so many men injured right now?
It’s not necessary. We know it will be hard to find players better than those we have. We will try to get ours healthy again as soon as possible and do everything we can to keep them healthy.

Is it a good time to get another winning streak underway?
It’s definitely what we need. We need to turn the page and start thinking about the league. It’s an important home match on Saturday. This is an important month and we have to win everything to stay alive on all fronts. We can’t dwell on the past.

Van der Vaart has only started one match. Has his output dropped or is it a matter of your game plans?
With Gago and Guti out, we had to play with Diarra, Van der Vaart and De la Red. Things changed when they returned. It’s definitely not a matter of Rafael’s performance. It’s because Sneijder, Guti and Gago are back. Van der Vaart needs to play as an attacking midfielder just as he might tomorrow.

How are Diarra, Guti and Ramos?
Diarra and Guti are perfectly healthy. Sergio couldn’t even get his foot into his boot this morning. It’s very swollen and we need to wait until tomorrow, but we think he will be better.

Do you think you can get through the season with the three forwards you have?
Let me know if you think you can find a player on the market who can make us any better. I manage with what I have, and I have total faith in all three of them. If we bring someone in just for the sake of it, I’ll be the one to suffer the consequences. We aren’t closing the door on anyone, but we have to make sure it’s the right man for the job.

Do you think the team has hit a skid having lost three of its last five matches?
I don’t think we’re on a skid. It would have been the best match of the season had we won 2-1 the other day instead of losing. I cannot judge a match on score alone. If I take a look at those matches without noticing the score, I don’t think we’ve hit any bumps in the road. I see mistakes, but we have played well. I know the final result is what matters, but I can take other positive elements from each game. We’ve made mistakes in important matches; small mistakes that cost us dearly. Take Almeria for example. We had the game well under control, but we let it slip though our fingers.