Tonight’s SuperCup: Madrid wait for Ronaldo’s appeal
Real Madrid expect today the final word by the Spanish Football Federation on the appeal lodged by the club on the five match ban on star player, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Coach Zinedine Zidane gave the hint Tuesday during a preview of the second leg of the SuperCup between the club and Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
Ronaldo and the club are upset that Ronaldo has been barred for so long, Zidane said, warning his players to be wary of their opponents tonight
“Barcelona can cause you problems at any time”, said Zidane as he analysed the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup.
“Anything is possible. In football nothing is certain. We’ll have to play very well because Barcelona can cause you problems at any time. In the first leg they had chances so we´ll have to play well. We did well in the first leg, but we have to play the whole tie until the end
“I don’t know how they’re going to replace Neymar, but I’m not very interested in that because I only concentrate on my own team. We don’t have that much time to think about other teams. I’m only thinking about tomorrow’s game against a difficult opponent. They’re a team with a lot of pride and they’re going to come here wanting to turn the game around. We have to be prepared. The team that plays will try to play in the best possible way, I have no doubt about that. We’re not going to let our guard down because we expect a difficult game, more difficult than the first leg”.
Praise for Asensio
“He’s working very well, like the whole group. We all want to work well. We’ll have a lot of different games and come up against different teams throughout the year. We prepare so that when a player plays, he does well”.
Ronaldo:
“I am and we are very upset. I’m not going to get involved with the referees but, after what happened, to think that he’ll not play for five games, makes you think that something isn’t right. It’s too long for him. I’ve been very clear in my response. What happened happened, but when you look at the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo has got five matches, you have to admit that it’s a lot”
Revoke the suspension?
“I hope that when they meet, they look at it thoroughly. I’m upset that he’s been suspended for five games after what happened. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m telling you how I feel after watching the match again. How is it not going to bother me. I don’t interfere with the work of the referee, we can all make mistakes, but it’s annoying that he’s got five games after what happened.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s mood
“Everyone can have their opinion but Cristiano Ronaldo is upset because he wants to play and when he doesn’t play he’s not happy, I hope they’ve not got something against Cristiano Ronaldo and people do their job with integrity. We’re upset that we are not going to have him with us for a long time. We’ll wait to see what happens tomorrow(today). The disciplinary committee is going to meet tomorrow(today) and after that we’ll see what we’re going to do”.
Proud of his squad
“A coach expects his team to be right when the official matches begin. We prepared for that and on the 8th we competed very well, we played very well and won showing our personality. It was down to all the hard work on the tour. We’re happy about what we’ve done so far, but it’s a long season and we still have to work hard. We’re going day to day. I’m very happy with my squad and all the players. Everybody is going to stay but before the 31st anything can happen, that’s out of my control
“I’m proud of everything that they’ve done. It wasn’t easy to get here. We’ve got a lot of talent. There is a lot of work behind all this and I value the work of everyone: the players, everyone who works with me and those behind the scenes. We must congratulate everyone for the good work done. It’s the beginning of a long and difficult season. It’s going to get harder every day”. NAN/Vanguard
