Realmadrid News

Roberto Carlos to AS: "We deserve to win the League"

GOAL OF VICTORY

"Sergio Ramos cleared the ball in defence and Higuaín and Gago initiated a counterattack. Five Recreativo players closed in on them and I saw the right moment in which to come down from the left. We practice that play a lot during training. Sevilla do too: whenever their keeper, Palop, grabs the ball he gives it to Alves, Jesús Navas or Adriano to play down the wings. When Gago had the ball just outside the box I shouted out for him to give me the ball. The grass was slightly wet, and this made the ball roll faster towards me than I expected and it stopped right under my body. I didn't know what to do. Guti asked for it, but I decided to hit it with the inside of my left foot. The keeper slightly touched it with the tips of his fingers, but it went in.

"I scored with the quality I usually showcase and I suddenly found myself with players climbing on me. This picture [points to Monday's front page of AS] shows the good vibes on the team. There was never a division between Brazilians and Spaniards on the squad."

MEA CULPA
"Recreativo drew because I made a mistake. I should have been onto Uche. I thought the ball wasn't high enough in the air and that Cannavaro and Ramos would be able to clear it. Capello showed us videos of Recreativo matches and we knew they like Juanma to be a nuisance for their opponent's centre backs in these sorts of plays. I failed to see it and didn't try to obstruct Uche's shot. Prior to the game, Capello warned us: no one besides Sevilla has played as well as Recreativo in the League this year."

THE FIGHT FOR THE LEAGUE
"The team deserves to win the League. We haven't come all this way to finish second. We will win the title by two points, defeating our opponents in the next three games. I want Zaragoza to defeat Sevilla next Sunday and qualify for next year's UEFA Cup because if they don't we will have a tough game in Zaragoza the following weekend. Barcelona will put pressure on us until the very end. I don't think Espanyol will manage to take any points against them because they have already covered all their goals for the season, but Getafe may. On Saturday we will know when we'll win the League. If we had defeated Barcelona 3-2 at Camp Nou we would have practically won the title. Let's hope the points we dropped there and in some home games this season don't come into play."

CAPELLO
"It's not luck, he's got here with hard work. He knows how to read a game. He isn't to blame about what happened two or three years ago. If he had Zidane on his squad we would already be champions. He is the same person he was ten years ago; he's a great coach."

"He is 61, old enough to know what he wants to do. He should be acknowledged for making the squad recover team spirit. We had won so many titles that we had completely forgotten about the badge we wear. At one point we thought donning this shirt was enough to win games. We wouldn't have been able to pull off this season's comeback three years ago. This has been thanks to Capello."

BECKHAM
"He's been great for the Club, setting an example on and off the pitch with his personality and his joy. His personality shines through; he is a very Brazilian Englishman."

VAN NISTELROOY
"Ronaldo's like my brother, but Ruud is very good. Next year, Ronie will have scored 36 goals in Italy and the Dutchman will have scored at least 34 here. Together they would have lost many games because they don't defend."

SERGIO RAMOS
"He is in great shape. I prefer him as a centre back and I don't think it's good for him to change positions so much. I think versatility can be detrimental for a player."

ROBINHO
"He has to play more. Some days he'll do everything right and others he will screw up, but I'm still convinced he will be the world's number one player some day."

DRESSING ROOM LEADERS
"Raúl will always be the first captain and I think Casillas is also capable of playing that role."


REFEREES
"They're very good. In Italy, if a player goes down too easily the refs watch a replay on a screen and suspend him, although the match result isn't altered. I wish they did that in Spain."

LEAVING REAL MADRID
"I stand by my decision of leaving. I can't afford to take a step back. I did the same with Brazil. I didn't decide to leave the Club because of what happened in Munich. I don't have to apologize for that. The quarterfinals against Munich lasted for 180 minutes, not ten. I don't think I am to blame for what happened, but I think it's time for Marcelo and Torres to take over.
What else can I win at Real Madrid? Disappointment? Pressure? I've won three European Cups, three Leagues and two Intercontinental Cups at this Club. I was League champion in my first year here and I will be a League champion again before I leave."

"People don't have to feel bad. Players like Di Stéfano, Puskas, Gento, Juanito, Santillana, Gordillo, Hugo Sánchez and Zidane have left this Club before me. Zidane could have stayed on, playing at a very high level in the ten most important League games and six or seven Champions League clashes, but he was exhausted. He suffered with the criticism he was getting. It's not easy to carry on when you have a wife, kids and enough money."

HIS FUTURE IN FOOTBALL
"I can still play two more years on a top team, after which I will go back to Brazil for a final season as player. I will become a coach when I retire. I feel better than ever. Next season you'll see I'm not finished. Not playing for four months has been good for me. If I thought I was getting old or felt tired I would go to Qatar, but I don't."

THE CHANGING OF THE GUARD

"Marcelo will have six great seasons at this Club. Torres will do great too. The Club will only need to sign a new number '3' if Salgado leaves."

"I have always seen myself as a left back. I wouldn't have been half the player I've been if I had been an attacking left winger. I wouldn't have had enough space. I don't have the element of surprise in me, and that defines an attacking left winger. Left backs like myself come from Brazil because we're not afraid of trying out different things. I've been a left back since I was 12 years old, professionally since Luxemburgo coached me at Palmeiras. I have always preferred attacking than running back to defend, as long as I did it responsibly. Things have been easy for me at Real Madrid. Every coach I've had has favoured me, although it's hard for a player like me to know exactly what to do. If you attack a lot people say you leave the back unprotected, and if you stay back they say you aren't as fit as you used to be. The hardest part of my job isn't putting the finishing touch on a ball, but being able to play the ball well after an 80 metre run."

THE BEST
"I have been surrounded by top quality players in the eleven years I've been at this Club. I have never played with mediocre players."

BALLON D'OR
"Cannavaro's award acknowledged the job defenders do. I didn't win when I was up for it because Ronaldo had a phenomenal World Cup."

posted by khalidmrrakchi@hotmail.com @ 8:00 PM