Realmadrid News

"I really liked Ronaldo," says Capello

Do you think your team lets opponents have too many chances?
We handled the ball with ease and calmly in the first half-hour. Tonight we played against a good team that has a good coach. I liked their performance and I think they will manage to avoid relegation. I liked them especially in the second half, when they fought hard and were swift to attack us. They had problems with our speed, but kept fighting hard.

Ronaldo seems to be in shape.
He is doing much better. He can improve even more, but he must play in order to do so since he has missed a lot of playing time. You don't get in full form in training sessions, that's why I'm very happy with his performance. I really liked him tonight. He helped the team when they needed it the most, which is a good display of team spirit from the player.


It's been tough for you to come back after being 1-0 down.
Their goal was clearly offside. We had our chances in the first half. When they attacked, we managed to find spaces to counterattack. I knew we were going to face a tough and solid team. They ran fast and fought hard. They have good players and are far from being a weak side.

Do you think this was your best game of the season so far?
We played excellent football in the second half. We were quick, we displayed quality and played a fast and precise game. I liked my players' peformance very much.

What did you say to Roberto Carlos at the end of the match?
I don't like players talking to rival coaches. I believe in team spirit. We all talked before the start of the second half and we were all convinced of making the comeback. We all play together and help each other.

Why was Beckham positioned in the center of the midfield?
Emerson has a niggle and is not currently at his best. At half-time he told me he was hurting. Beckham has played in the middle with England and Real Madrid in the past and does well in that position.

Why do you have so many problems in defence?
We have problems with headers and aerial plays mainly because our defenders aren't very tall. When Urzaiz stepped out onto the pitch, Bilbao proved to be more dangerous. They are tall and they know how to jump. They're good.

Casillas made two great saves.
Casillas made an excellent save. I told him I thought so. He also made two good free kick saves.

Mané said that the referee wasn't equally strict with both teams.
I never talk about referees and I never will.

Now that Ronaldo's back in shape, will you line up two strikers?
Of course, why not? I always said I would.


Realmadrid.com
Photography by Ángel Martínez & Daniel Sastre
Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell

posted by khalidmrrakchi@hotmail.com @ 12:33 PM