Mijatovic on Cassano's supension: "Real Madrid is above self-interest"
Real Madrid's Sporting Director Pedja Mijatovic spoke to several late night Spanish radio programmes to clear up the situation surrounding Italian international Antonio Cassano, who has been suspended and banned from team training for disrespecting the coach. Mijatovic reiterated that there are things which are intolerable in view of the Club's history of excellence.
“It was a hectic day, but I'm used to that. It is still sad to be forced to take this sort of decisions, but we needed to do something. We're the biggest Club in the world and discipline is essential. Players have to abide by the rules and Cassano's offense was serious enough that we needed to take a decision. Players know well enough that they owe the manager and everybody else respect."
"He knows what happened and we are sure he understands. I spoke to him personally. I listened to him and then the coach and I reached a decision, which was subsequently supported by the President and the Board of Directors."
"Cassano recognises that he made a mistake. We all know Antonio has a strong character, but above all we want to stress that he's a professional and he cannot, under any circumstance, be rude or offensive to the manager."
"In this respect, the best example is Iván Helguera, who even trained with the third team but never complained. Now he's a starter. He's a superb professional. The decision was tough but it had to be made. Fabio has known Cassano for many years now and knows how he can be, but he's also aware that he has a big heart which, in this case, has led him to accept his punishment.”
“Every player of the first team is important and wants to play, but not all can, obviously. We all understand that they really want it, but it's Capello's job to see how they are doing individually every single day and, henceforth, make a technical decision of who is going to feature. Players have to accept this, whether they like it or not.”
“I am in charge of all the sporting matters and the President trusts me 100% in this area. Ronaldo has been recovering from an injury and it's just a quation of time until he proves himself again. I am sure that he will contribute to the extent we expect of him, playing good football and scoring many goals. He and his circle of trust requested a meeting. We met and I told them that we have all the confidence in the world in Ronaldo and that we count on him. From this point forward, it is all up to the player and his performance. I think Ronaldo understands that now it's Ruud who's playing. The coach makes decisions and they follow his indications.”
“I wanted to tell all the players about the rules and how important it is to follow them, especially here, at Real Madrid. The Club will always be above any form of self-interest. Therefore, when we take this sort of decision, we expect them to assume and respect it. Cassano is not a problem for us. He had a very bad reaction and we had to take disciplinary action. Right now we're uncertain as to how long he will be suspended. It's indefinite for the time being and it will depend on the coach's and my decision when he rejoins the rest of the squad. It was hard for me, because I try to get along with the players and be in the best of terms, but that's the way the ball bounces.”
“We're worried that the news was leaked because this sort of things sgouldn't happen. I would like to know who leaked it because this hurts the dressing room. In any event, leak or noleak, the decision stands.”
Report by Carlos Cristóbal
Photography: Realmadrid.com
Translation by Luis Orueta
posted by khalidmrrakchi@hotmail.com @ 7:12 PM
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