BATE Preview

So i have been neglectful the past few weeks with the blog. My excuses are numerous, from school to a girl to a exhausting road trip that I just finished. But thats no matter now, as I am back for a preview of the upcoming Champions League game. Its gonna be short though, as the game is so soon, and like I have said before, I know very little about BATE. You can check out what I said about BATE when we played them at the Bernabeu almost two months ago. Seems like forever for me.

Game will be at 2:45pm eastern, probably not on ESPN, but the usual streams from here will suffice. Not sure if Steve will be able to liveblog the game, he does have a job. I would if it was on ESPN, but I cant watch the game and write on the same computer, it just doesnt work. Maybe Dancy could give us one of those great not-so-live play-by-plays she is so good at after the match.

As for Real, we will being playing in Minsk as BATE’s stadium does not meet UEFA standards I believe, and as of right now the forecast is for it to be a bit chilly, possibly -10C with the windchill, and some snow. Now it does snow from time to time in Spain, but its not a common thing except for in the higher elevations, and even then in the winter. It rarely gets that cold though, could you imagine if a player from Extremadura or Mallorca left Spain for the first time to go to Minsk! I would equate Minsk to Upstate New York, cold and bleak.

While the weather wont help the Merengues, a morale boosting 1-0 win against Huelva this past weekend will. Now yes, Huelva is bottom of the table (Osasuna won a game, so now they are in 19th) and is hardly a formidable opponent, but then again we have been letting lower league teams score goals against us, so a clean sheet and three points when Barca only got 1 is encouraging. The fact that even after a diasterous run of form, we are only 3 points off the league leaders and we need two do-able wins in the Champions League to qualify. Lets take a glass half full approach after all the disappointing news we have gotten the past month.

Squad:

Goalkeepers
Casillas, Dudek, Codina
Defenders
Torres, Marcelo, Heinze, Salgado, Pepe, Metzelder, Ramos
Midfielders
Gago, Guti, Snejder, Drenthe, Javi García, Van der Vaart
Forwards
Raúl, Saviola, Bueno

Higuain is out, but he should be fit for the weekend’s short trip to Getafe. This is good news, as while Saviola and Raul may get it done against BATE, they wont against Cata Diaz and company. Great to see Bueno still in the first team, even though its due to injury. He is a good player, he just needs to confidence of the coach and a run in the team. Diarra is out, while Sneijder is a last second decision after a niggle against Recreativo. A double pivot of Javi Garcia and Gago is not out of the question, but with Sneijder and Guti both fit Schuster will find it tough to resist both.

VDV will start on the bench, has he really done much for us so far besides a great few goals at the start of the season? Nope, but Im not worried, he needs to to adjust, and at Real thats never easy. Hell, remember when I railed on Higuain and Gago? Took them a year and a half to really step up their level, now both look pretty good huh. Same can be said for Drenthe. I read he didnt play terribly against Recre, so maybe he is turning a corner too. I cant say the same for Marcelo, who just seems a big waste of time now, especially with the promising Chema Anton being held out of the team by him. I expect Heinze to be dreadful at left back this game, giving Marcelo yet another chance down the road, lets hope he takes it.

Sergio Ramos and Pepe in the middle. Hmmm, interesting. Ramos looked good there last match, but lets not get carried away here. He was pretty average when he first came to Real and played there. He has a few more years on him of course, but something tells me he wont be content in the center for too long. A move to midfield in my opinion makes so much sense, I know alot of you readers have said the same. But while it strengthens our midfield, it weakens are defense alot. Maybe when Garay comes in and we get a replacement for Canna/Metzelder this summer it can happen. But usually its the defensive midfielder who moves backwards, not a right back into midfield.

Iker needs to stop being so damn average too. He gets shelled every game, we know this. But he is off the boil right now, he needs to be at his best because if his defenders arent confident with their keeper, they lose their last bit of confidence themselves.

Im predicting a 2-0 victory here. BATE offered little going forward at the Bernabeu, and I dont see that changing at home. They got some impressive results in their other games, but the Real players know what is at stake here, and besides the retarded cash incentive Calderon (I have lost all respect for him) has thrown down, the players should not need much more motivation then to continue into the next stage of the CL.

Schuster Presser:

How does Sneijer feel and is he healthy enough to play?
He will play if he is fit. We cannot hold anyone back. I would even play. We cannot play for style points. Sneijder looks good and I have a feeling he will be ready to go.

Based on your experience as a player, how big a factor will the snow be?
We need to prepare our players. We are unfamiliar with playing in snow. We are going to have a lot of trouble if they aren’t ready to play in this weather tomorrow, but we’ll do our best to be competitive from the moment the whistle is blown.

Does the fact that the season has ended for BATE benefit you?
I don’t think so. They’re a good team and I am sure they will want to continue showing why the play so well. They look motivated and have their two top scorers. I am not totally confident about this match.

Did the win against Recre bring you any peace of mind?
We want to continue winning. Tomorrow we play an important match and there’s no doubt that the victory against Recreativo helped. I have already said we could have scored more goals, but that’s in the past. More than tranquility, it made this team more sure of itself.

Not only do you need to win, but the team needs to play well.
We lost twice against a good Juventus team, but I don’t think we didn’t play well. That’s just how football goes. Goals are all that matter. We want to win because we’d like to lock up a spot in the next round before having to play Zenit. We must try to win this match, and we’ll take any help we can get from Juventus.

Torres Presser:

What do you think playing when it’s ten below zero outside will be like?
We’re definitely not used to it, but we have no choice. We have to concentrate harder because of the weather and the condition of the pitch. We hope we can use both to our benefit some how in order to stay fully involved at all times.

Did shutting Recreativo out boost the team’s confidence?
Not conceding any goals is always important. We had played several matches in which we had conceded too many, and fortunately that wasn’t the case against Recreativo. We hope it was the start of a good patch of results during which we concede very few goals. It’s something we’ve been working really hard on.

You played along the wing during that match and Sergio Ramos was a centre-back alongside Pepe.
I try to be as versatile as possible because it makes me more available for the coach whenever he needs me. Sergio and Pepe did a fantastic job the other day, but I don’t know what the coach has planned for tomorrow. Whatever player is out there tomorrow will do the best job possible.

How do you feel now that you are healthy?
I am fine, but I still need a little playing time. That’s always the case coming off of injury, but it slowly comes back to you. I was eager to help the team, and fortunately I got to play and help the team keep a clean sheet. The coach had faith in me and I am glad I could respond the way I did.

What BATE player does the team respect most?
I honestly haven’t paid much attention to them. We are more concerned about the weather, the pitch and BATE’s desire to win in front of their home crowd. We are Real Madrid and I think we have enough talent to think only about what we must do. We have a crucial match ahead, and we must win however we can.

Category: Team News

Tags: Team News

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