Schuster Interview
By: Corey | May 27th, 2008Hey everyone, I have been very on and off lately with posting. I moved into my house this past week and just got internet hooked up today, so I was not really able to post any thing. Here is an interview from Schuster on Real’s website that I liked, with some candid banter from Bernadine. He seems to have really grown into the role as Real, which is nice to see.
“Everyone on this team worked very hard” Bernd Schuster
Bernd Schuster is happy, still enjoying his recent league title. The season came to an end at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium with the team’s impressive 5-2 victory against Levante. The coach told Realmadrid.com that he didn’t imagine he would have such a successful first year at the helm of the team.
Eager for the holiday’s to start?
Yes and no. I would have liked to have more time here to enjoy the title more fully, but we need to relax and rest, although some of my players have to play in the Euro.
Some think the league has been easy, but the truth is it’s been long and tough.
Yes, it always is. You have to play 38 games, knowing that most teams are extra motivated when they face Real Madrid. That requires us to work very hard. We were leaders from Matchday 2 until the end of the tournament and that required a great effort on our part.
How would you assess the team’s season?
That’s easy. I think we built a new team, with a new coach and quite a few players that were signed last year that had to adapt to Real Madrid and the new coach’s philosophy. The players that were already here also had to adapt to that philosophy… We had some ups and downs, but that’s normal when a team doesn’t work like it wants to. This year’s philosophy was very different. We had to get used to it very quickly because you can’t wait a year or two to see if the team works here.
Has that good adaptation process been one of the keys to the team’s success?
Yes, there’s no doubt about it. Our new players adapted very well, they helped us a lot and I think the team earned everyone’s respect. Every player worked very hard. They didn’t just want to play nice touch football; everyone fought hard, even in the games we lost. I remember those fixtures often. All this was very positive. You learn a lot when you know you have another year in which to improve on past mistakes.
Did you ever think everything would turn out that well?
It was hard to think so at the beginning. I knew we would have to win one title because this club is very demanding. When an important team like Real Madrid doesn’t win anything people get restless. I think winning the league last year helped us to do the work we wanted to do. It was important for me to have a season like this, in which you basically played one game every three days until Christmas. I knew we would win one title and the league is one of the most important ones there is.
Have you managed to bring what you wanted to this Real Madrid?
I wanted two things: to give the players certain freedom because I think that to give them limitations is the worst thing you can do; and I also wanted them to defend in more advanced positions, closer to our opponent’s goal. I think we achieved all this at times, putting more pressure on our rivals and recovering ball possession before they got to our goal. That was very important for me.
Real Madrid was the top scoring and least scored upon team in the championship.
Yes. Curiously enough, these things happen when things work out. It is the second year in a row in which one of my teams is the least scored upon side in the league. I mentioned it to the players in Austria last year and I noticed some of them thought it was impossible due to how much we attack.
It was hard to imagine a team that tried so hard to score…
You have to look for the right formula. Casillas is an important player that allowed us to take many points this season. Non-defenders like Raúl, Guti, Sneijder and Robinho also played a very important role. They all defended better than ever. We didn’t concede any goals in many of our last games this season. Everyone worked very hard.
Which was the sweetest moment of the season for you?
I think the time we went through in November and December was very special. We didn’t concede a single goal for a month until the Christmas break, crowning that with our 1-0 victory at Camp Nou. That was a very sweet moment for the team. We were very sure of ourselves, performing very well in all our matches.
Which was the bitterest moment?
Probably the match against Roma. We were in a complicated situation at the time, a real shame. We played very well in Rome in the first leg, deserving more than a defeat, but we weren’t at our best in the return game. That hurt me deeply. The good thing is that we now know we will have to keep an eye on those things next year. That competition needs you to be in great shape all the time.
Category: Team News
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What do you think about all this Ronaldo / Real Madrid hype?
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I don’t care much for it Alex its very typical of the summer though its no different than the patrick viera saga of a few years back so get ready for some nauseating gossip every day
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There is always truth to the gossip my friend. Deals are worked on, won and lost. It’s big money business and the Ronaldo epic is a doozy. It is happening though, and it’s a chess match. Just like your recent post about second tier leagues and player development, high level acquisitions and the PR game these multi-million dollar organizations play is a very real aspect of the business. Don’t discredit it just because you don’t think it’s a strategically wise move, because you have a negative bias towards a certain players image (just an assumption), or because you disagree with the player’s personal business tactics. It would be nice for the business of football to be strictly sport and entertainment, but this is big business and many players and executives lives hinge on the wise moves they make, including the ones played out in the media. I for one think it’s just as entertaining as the actual games that are played, well maybe not as much, but certainly not so much less that it should be dismissed as mere gossip for fools.
What are you studying in school Corey? If it’s business, prepare yourself to have your dreams and hopes shattered. The world is a cruel and unforgiving place, run by a bunch of savvy and very self centered bastards. Ronaldo, Calderon, all the Real players that have made statements, Ferguson, etc, are no exception.
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I don’t know, elmero, I think you might’ve missed the point. I don’t disagree that if anything, football (these days) is two parts business, one part sport; and I also agree that summer signings are an exciting part of the game.
But this nonsense where some member of the press asks someone (ANYONE) related to Ronaldo/Real Madrid a question (ANY question) about Cristiano’s future, and that person says something (ANYTHING!) about it, which is then immediatly plastered as a headline and spread throughout the world of sports: that’s not only nauseating, it’s shameless. It’s stirred up to sell copy, which is business, but a very ignoble and reputation shattering side of reporting. (Look at how pubications like As, Sport, Marca, etc. are viewed throughout the rest of Europe, and even within Spain).
If and when Ronaldo actually signs with Madrid, then I’ll devote an immense amount of energy into talking about his place on the team, the effect he’ll have and how we’ll need to adopt our style of play to utilize him best. Until then, I don’t care for all the speculation.
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I agree with you on the press element of this John, but I’m not angry with the press - they’re just the nature of the beast. It saddens me that this kind of hype could damage the relationship between 2 great clubs - and I can’t help but feel slightly ashamed as the reputation of our club is being damaged here.
Despite the realities of big business mentioned in this thread, I still believe there is an ethic of fair play and sportsmanship that has always been with our club - something I think that Raul has always been a true ambassador for.
Regardless of whether we are the bad guys or not (and perhaps that is debateable), the fact is this kind of thing does damage our reputation and despite what some may say about the cut throat business world - actually our reputation matters quite alot for the future of the club.Certainly, Calderon has preached in the press about this during the season in response to Schuster complaining about referees.
I’m not saying that RM are truly at fault in all of this because it’s hard separate the truth from the nonsense, certainly I think we are guilty of playing a game with the press. There’s nothing wrong with being a ruthless business operator, but we’ve been pretty naive to think that we wouldn’t upset someone.
Certainly, whilst various accusations are flying back and forth it’s likely that Ronaldo and his agents are profiting from it since it changes the balance at the ManU negotiation table.
I hope that RM are not as gullible as they seem in all of this, but I think they have lost control of something that they started.The thought of us giving up 3 of our best players and 80 mil (or whatever the current figure is) sickens me.
Whilst all this mess is going on Barca are quietly picking up new players everyday - no fuss.Posted from
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John, I don’t understand what you mean by “Look at how publications like As, Sport, Marca, etc. are viewed throughout the rest of Europe…”.
As if the British or Italian publications are any better…Posted from
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So now the rumour is that Hleb may be going to Barca, this is the damage done when you purse a single player at the cost of everything else.
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Just for interests sake, my favoured (realistic) signing targets for this summer are (in priority order):
1) Coloccini
I’m guessing Metzelder may be out, and I think Canavaro has been dissapointing for us, so I think we need a defender first.
It’s not that I’m a die-hard fan of this guy, but he has the ball skill, he’s not clumsy and he’s probably available. He can also play in midfield to help out Gago.
backup: maybe Carvalho, but less likely.2) Villa
I’m assuming that Soldado and Saviola will go. Personally, I’m not convinced they got a fair chance, and if I had my way I’d keep one of them, but there you go.
I think Villa’s great, we’d be lucky to get him, not sure he fits in with Raul and Ruud on the same pitch though. He has the benenfit of also being very creative, could drop back a little and put passes in to main striker. He can also take a mean free kick.
backup: Huntlarr? Van Der Vaart? How many dutch players do we need?3) Hleb
Guti has been great this season, but think we need someone creative in the middle when Guti isn’t firing. Sniejder is alot of good things, but he isn’t a short passer of the ball like Guti.
There were stages in the season when people were saying this guy was the main operator at Arsenal, not Cesc. He play in the middle and the wing.
backup: Diego….he’s been mentioned before.Posted from
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Sorry to take a while to respond to this, have been in Mexico getting married, but I got back to Texas today and saw the postings. I might have been a bit harsh, I was lying on a porch overlooking San Miguel messing around on the laptop and have to admit I had a few drinks in my system. As with most Mexicans I get a bit petulant when I drink.
John, I don’t disagree that AS, Marca and those publications are a lot of times filled with hot air used to sell papers, which is nauseating. However, the point I was trying to make is that in some cases, such as this one, the publications are only tools of the propoganda machines these corporate entities use to play their games. It’s not AS making up the news that Ronaldo is manuevering to get himself what he wants, it in fact is Ronaldo doing that, which is legitimate news. It’s not AS making up statements from Calderon or Ferguson or whoever, these people are in fact making the statements, and the statements have a very targeted and intentional purpose: to influence the player and his agents decisions, to derail the competitions plans, to state the teams willingness, to test the fans receptiveness, etc… If anything, point the finger at Real Madrid, and their strong arm tactics, just as Ferguson has done. I personally accept it as such, and I think that’s the real reason why a lot of other teams fans detest Real, to the extent of calling them the evil empire. I am not advocating using these types of tactics, I am all for fair business practices, but have also been around long enough to know that these aren’t mere fabrications from the media, but rather extremely competitive/aggressive pushes from a highly competitive business trying to achieve their goals, unfortunately at the expense of their competition. I would rather Real not stoop to these levels, but in reality, as it has been stated on this blog in the past, Real is not the only team, or business for that matter, making strong moves. All of the CL caliber teams are there for a reason, they want to win on and off the pitch and they don’t play softball. All I am saying, is that on a blog dedicated to all things Real Madrid, these types of developments, whether good or bad, should not be ignored.
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