Real Madrid vs Getafe | Spanish Primera Liga | Round 32 | Preview
Getafe have always managed to get something out of their games against Real Madrid, but taking points at the Bernabeu won’t be easy this year. The Whites need a victory to keep their options in the championship alive. There will be new faces on the starting lineup due to the absences of Lass, Heinze and Sneijder.
Real Madrid have grown accustomed to winning. The team hasn’t lost in La Liga since December and must keep this up against Getafe. Guti’s return to the squad list will be essential to cover the absences of Lassana Diarra (suspended) and Wesley Sneijder (injured). Real Madrid’s lineup will therefore probably be as follows: Iker Casillas; Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, Torres; Guti, Marcelo, Robben (or Van der Vaart); Raul, Higuain and Huntelaar.
The squad is determined to win all its games and is so far being successful. This week will be decisive in La Liga because the Whites are set to face Sevilla on Sunday too. That match will be followed by complicated clashes with Barcelona and Villarreal. But first, the Madridistas must defeat Getafe, who are hungry for points and suffering more than they’ve grown accustomed to. The Blues have been very irregular all season and are currently 15th on the table. The match will be marked by the return of Lucas Licht and former Madridista Granero.
Not only have Getafe managed to stay in the First Division ever since they got promoted; they have also played in the UEFA Cup and in two finals of the King’s Cup. Real Madrid and the Blues have clashed nine times, with three favourable outcomes for the Whites, four for Getafe and two draws.
Winning is all that counts in Real Madrid’s fight for the title, and the Madridistas will do their best to snatch yet another victory at the Bernabeu tonight.
Guti back on list
Juande’s 18-man list for Tuesday’s match against Getafe has some new faces on it. Guti and Drenthe have been called up for action, while Sneijder, Heinze and Lass are unavailable. Salgado, Faubert, Parejo and Codina were left off due to a coaching decision.
SQUAD LIST:
Goalkeepers: Casillas, Dudek
Defenders: Ramos, Pepe, Cannavaro, Metzelder, Torres, Marcelo
Midfielders: Gago, Javi Garcia, Robben, Guti, Drenthe, Van der Vaart
Forwards: Higuain, Raul, Saviola, Huntelaar
INJURY REPORT:
SNEIJDER: Grade II muscle tear. Medical treatment and physiotherapy.
HEINZE: Synovitis of the left knee. Medical treatment and physiotherapy.
Juande Ramos press conference
Juande Ramos sounded confident about the upcoming match against Getafe as he offered Monday’s press conference.
How is the team physically-speaking?
It’s fine other than those players who are injured. I think we’re good to go for tomorrow’s match.
Might this be a week in which teams slip up?
Every match but ours is on Wednesday and we’re all in the same boat. The three points in play against Getafe are worth the same as those against Barcelona. We must win, win, win.
Will you rest Robben and/or start Guti?
Robben has had a problem or two when he plays back-to-back matches. Guti has a good chance since we are short in that position.
In this game of cat and mouse, who is feeling more wear and tear, the hunter or the hunted?
I think the hunter because Barcelona are two games ahead of us. They have room to slip up.
In Barcelona there is talk of winning the league in the Bernabeu. Might the rumors be a way of messing with Real Madrid’s head?
We’re doing what we need to do and no one can make us lose focus. Hopefully we don’t lose for a long time, but nothing being said will derail us.
Do you really think Sevilla will be the one to knock off Barcelona?
I’d rather focus on our matches because everything else is out of our control. Every team has its goals and I want to focus on the Getafe match.
Has Faubert apologized for missing training?
The kid made a little mistake and that’s it. He thought they had the day off as usual. It was just a mistake. He knows the rules and will follow them.
Do you think Robben is too much of an individualist sometimes?
All players make decisions at certain times. Sometimes they don’t pan out, sometimes they do. His play against Villarreal resulted in a goal and three points. All players make mistakes and the right call.
How would you describe the job Lass is doing?
We have more than twenty players here and cannot gripe about it. They are all important, but those who haven’t seen much action are able to show their stuff. Winning is our only option. We cannot make excuses and win or lose with Lass.
Do you prefer Marcelo along the wing or in a more central position?
He does well along the wing. He is improving a lot.
Naples or Turin it doesn’t matter, Canna is leaving!
Come end of the season, Fabio Cannavaro’s deal with Real Madrid is set to expire. Reports emanating from Spain suggest that we do have any new deal to offer him and that he automatically will become a free agent.Naples was supposedly his favored destination to spend the twilight of his glittering career but now Juve too are said to be interested in regaining his services. It should be noted that Fabio spent two years with Juve before heading to the Bernabeu in the wake of the Italian match-fixing scandal in 2006 when other stars like Gigi Buffon and Alessandro Del Piero stayed and played in Serie B.
His agent Gaetano Fedele has now announced that his client is a target for clubs in England, Russia and Germany, but has hinted that a return to Juve is more likely. Fedele believes Cannavaro would welcome the opportunity to join Juve for a second time.
Juve’s offer is the biggest and most interesting. There’s every chance this will be the decisive week. Juventus have been really correct and so they have immediately contacted Real Madrid because the player is set to be a free agent. Fabio would be really, really happy to come back to Juve with sums clearly less than the ones he currently earns.
Meanwhile, Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said he would welcome Fabio Cannavaro’s return to Turin this summer.
Someone of Cannavaro’s experience would be good for any team,” said Buffon. “He would be important on and off the pitch. It’s clear he cannot be a part of the team’s long-term project but then again neither would I as I’m 31.
He’s leaving for sure. But who is going to replace him? Not Heinze for heaven’s sake!
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
Injury woes: Sneijder out for a month
Wesley Sneijder is set to miss upto 4 weeks of football becuase of an hamstring injury conflicted upon him during the final few minutes in the game against Recreativo.
The Dutch sensation was subbed out and replaced by compatriot Rafael van der Vaart in the closing stages of the game and was carried out in a strecher. He was sent for scans on Sunday to determine the full extent of the problem, with a tear being identified.
Also, Gabriel Heinze, who missed the match at the weekend due to a knee complaint, will miss tonight’s clash against city rivals Getafe as well where as Lass is suspended and will thus sit out this game.
How lucky can Barcelona get?!?
Para Siempre Blanco!
Hala Madrid!!
Just another Madridista
Junta speak