Interviews and Reactions

By: Corey | January 27th, 2009

As it is the middle of the week, we have a few interviews to look at. I know most of you give the interviews that I copy and paste here short shrift usually, judging from the amount of comments I get compared to say a match review or an editorial piece. But I like interviews, because even if there is a whole lot of politically correct sports cliches, there is always some sort of interesting tid bit in an interview. Here are a few I liked.

Raul to Marca:
“The season is long and they can make mistakes.”

“They are the best team – the league shows their standard of play – and they seem to be unstoppable. But in football many things can happen and we will keep working because of that.”

“We would like to play better, to score more goals and to let the fans enjoy it more. We know the onus is on us and we know that we can give a lot more,” he explained.

“People have always been critical and we have to remember that victories have been secured, but we have to improve.”

“There are situations that one cannot control. The most damaged things are the image and the history of the club. It is clear that we are not happy and the club has to present another image to the outside world”.

“We want to improve that in the next few months, achieve an institutional stability and take Real Madrid back where it deserves to be.

“We are completely separate from it all, but is difficult to be away from everything that surrounds to the club because is important.

“We prepare each game to reach our objectives. In the league we are second and we want to move away from the ones behind and we hope to catch Barcelona. What is important at club level is that stability is obtained – that is what all we want. We hope that in the next elections everything will be solved. Now, we work to give happiness to the fans as they are worried about this situation.”

Many have called for Raul to ride the bench much more frequently this season. Given the injury to Ruud, the utter crap that is Saviola, and the unconvincing start Hunter has gotten off to, we need Raul more then ever. Besides his ability to score at any given second, he is a real leader on the field, and that is important. Raul will be a fixture in the team for years to come, although I do agree that in the next year or two he will be on the bench more often, not unlike Butragueno, Santamaria etc. before him.

Juande to Realmadrid.com:

“Five consecutive victories is an important figure, but I think it is even more important to see that the team is growing and that it doesn’t concede as many goals anymore. We have to continue to work hard because we still have to improve.”

“Real Madrid have to play better. We have managed to hit a winning streak for the moment, and we are now forced to show our quality. There are great professionals on this team. They’ve all made great sacrifices, even the injured players. The team wants to achieve something big this season. I am delighted with the will power and attitude of all my men.”

“This team has a loyal fan base which has been forged in success. That’s why it has to be demanding. I like fans to be demanding because it means we can do even better. The team needs them and we will be in excellent form at the end of the campaign with their support. We need the fans to have faith in us. We can only achieve something great with their support.”

I have a feeling Juande reads what I have to say, because so far I have been two for two with making suggestions and getting a response. This time it was urging the coach to loosen up the defensive tactics a bit, at least at home, to enable the team to play more fluid, attractive football again. It seems Juande listened, as he basically said he is working on it and hopes to see improvement there in the coming weeks, but reminds fans to be patient. Juande to is like the second coming of Christ with a bushy mustache (Del Bosque), lets hope he can keep up the good work and continue on next year regardless of what president we end up with.

Drenthe on being booed by the Real faithful:

Yes, it’s true. I almost (broke down).

“And this is normal. The Bernabeu is my home and now it seems like I am playing at an away ground.

“It does not hurt me when I’m booed away from the Bernabeu, but at home it hurts a lot. I love this club. I have a Ronaldo shirt of Real Madrid, which was a gift from my father when I was 15 years old.

“I’ve always been Madrid, while my family was for Barcelona. I am a child of Madrid. When the opportunity arose to sign for this team, I spoke with Mr Mijatovic and told him so directly.”

Asked if he would seek a move away, Drenthe added: “No, never. I know this is difficult, but I want to strive for success here.”

I have often been hasty with player performances. But after giving Drenthe last year as his developmental year at such a tender age, I expected gradual improvement from the lad. At times he looks great, bombing down the wing with pace, but he cant do anything with the ball. I still believe that he is capable of being a good player, especially at left back, but its gonna take an old, salty veteran of a coach to break him back into that position. Which to me points to a loan next season, to a mid-table La Liga club with a coach like Lotina or Victor Munoz to get him positionally ready and in the proper mindset to be a left back, otherwise he will never make it despite his obvious affection for Real.

Getafe President Angel Torres (a Real Madrid club member) on Pedja’s job:

“There is no sense in Mijatovic staying. He should have left with the president who brought him. He cannot continue with the club,” said Torres.

“If in the Netherlands, today there are only four top players, how is it possible that Real Madrid has six? Something is wrong and (the recruiting) has not been done well.”

I have to agree with that, and I have nothing more to add. Well said sir.

Thats all for now, if I find any good stuff tomorrow I will add to this post. Have a good one.