Raul press conference

Raul knows just how important this Clasico is and believes Real Madrid can win.

Is this the most important Clasico of your career?
These games are always special because of the rivalry, and they’re even more special when there’s five games left in the season and the title is at stake for us. Everyone wants to play this game and all football fans will watch it.

Do you feel winning against Barcelona would make it easier to win the title?
Sure. We’ll have more chances to win. Everything different from a victory would make winning the title more difficult. Nevertheless, Barcelona will depend solely on theirselves even if we beat them. We want our streak to continue. We’ll have four games left after Saturday and we want to win all of them. We want to make the fans happy because many things have happened this season and all of us have suffered. All of us players are very excited about it. we want to do well and win.

Barcelona play good football and Real Madrid are having an impressive run. Is this the most uncertain Clasico there’s ever been?
Both teams are having an excellent season in La Liga. We’ve had a run that’s hard to improve on, and so have they. They’ve played great games and we will try to be superior to them on Saturday. We will try to play an intense game from the start. They play a match every three days and we will try to make good use of that.

After the first leg Clasico many believed Barcelona were going to win the title. Are you anxious for a rematch?
It was an important victory for them and no-one believed in us back then. We’ve had a good run that’s put us in the situation we’re in now. We’ve done a good job, focusing on each game at a time. That’s how we’ve reached a situation in which we can dream about winning the title.

Barcelona are plagued with good players. Which is your favourite?
They are all great. Barcelona’s merit lies in the fact that, besides having those players, they are a united and well-balanced team. Every man is an essential part of the team. Whenever the coach has needed different men at times, they’ve always responded well.

But which player would you rather didn’t play? Xavi, Iniesta, Messi…
I want them all to be there. They have excellent players, so if I were to decide, none of them would be there. Xavi controls their game and they will have many chances to score if he plays well. There are no words to describe how good their forwards are.

What role do you think Messi will play?
Messi is a phenomenal player, one of the most decisive footballers  in the world. We’ll have to keep an eye on him. It is practically impossible to stop him when he has a good day.

Do you think this is the strongest Barça you’ve ever faced?
A team is judged at the end of the year by its results, but I believe they have one the best squads I’ve seen. They have many unsettling players and they are the only team that’s still alive in all three competitions. That says a lot.

Barcelona have drawn two games. Do you think a draw would be a good result for Real Madrid?
Winning is all that counts now. Barcelona haven’t won their last two games and we are more prepared for a victory. Their squad and psychological strength allows them to win at any stadium, but we’ll try to avoid that. We hope their bad streak continues and that we managed to take three points. Drawing the match would give them too large a lead and this is an essential clash for us. They can afford not to win, but we can’t.

Rumour has it they may be scared…
I don’t think they are. They have chances of winning and they will try to pull that off, especially knowing that winning here would make it easier for them to win the title.

There’s talk about Juande staying on for the next season…
He has his job and career to his credit. We don’t think about that now; our minds are set on our next game. The Club will decide what it must. We just feel he is doing a good job.

What’s the key to the fact that Real Madrid now have chances of winning the league title?
Our daily and weekly work, and the faith we have in ourselves. We’ve had some complicated games, but we’ve fought to the end and won thanks to the drive the history of the Club gives us. That’s what’s put us in this situation, but we admit we would like it to be even better. We want to be able to dream about winning the title after the match.

Do Real Madrid have more faith in earning a victory than Barcelona?
We have faith in our work and we know we can win the match and hurt Barcelona, but it’s hard to win against a team that plays at such a high level.

Do you feel better than them for the first time this season?
No. Barcelona are leaders because they deserve to be. We are in an excellent situation after months of working hard when people didn’t believe in us. We have a chance to finish it all off now. We still have complicated away games left, but if we win and keep this streak up, they may drop some points.

It seems neither team wants to be regarded as favourite to win. Who do you think is the favourite?
Real Madrid are favouirtes when they play at the Bernabeu. It will be an even match, but the atmosphere at the stadium will help us win. That will motivate us even more.

Has the squad talked about the chance of winning the goal average?
The only thing we think about is winning. We must be humble and respect our opponent, but we could also look for something extra in the game.

Has Guti’s absence for the game sunk in yet?
It’s a shame about Guti and I hope he makes it to the match, but it seems impossible after the blow he received and the way he limped this morning. He played well in our last few games and he looked ready to help the team considerably. We are nevertheless recovering other important players and the coach will use the men he thinks are best for the match.

How important is the return of Robben and Heinze?
Having them on hand gives the coach more possibilities and their recovery is very positive. It seemed complicated, but they’ve been training for days now and everything looks to be going well.

Their recovery must be important for the team…
Robben has been essential to us because he is unsettling and it is always much better to have him on the pitch. Nevertheless, other players have taken his spot and done well too. Heinze is also important because he knows Messi and will know how to stop him better than the rest of us. But we should look at the team as a whole. That will make stopping them easier for us.

What role do you think the Dutch players are having this season?
I think they’ve integrated well to the Club and that they’ve all helped with their style. They are young professionals and the experience they are getting here will help them improve even more.

Should Real Madrid try to steal the ball from Barcelona or wait at the back for a chance to counterattack?
We’ll have to do both things. We’ll get chances to do both. They will dominate in some instances of the match, but we will have to go get them first and steal the ball using the atmosphere at the stadium. We need it in order to be confident throughout the match. Nevertheless, we all know a game can drastically change in just one minute.

How do you think you will defend?
We want to steal the ball and make things hard for them. It’s not that teams usually wait at the back for them to come; on the contrary, Barcelona keep them there with their chances on goal and it’s hard to get out. Our coach knows what we must do, but things may happen that could prompt a change in our game.

Chelsea and Valencia drew against them by waiting at the back and counterattacking. Do you think that will be the key to defeating them on Saturday?
Chelsea got what they wanted, but Barcelona failed to capitalise on some chances that could have changed the entire match.

Maybe the difference between this year’s Clasico in Madrid is Guardiola…
He plays a key role because he’s managed to instill a particular style in his players and they seem happier than in previous years. Some men that weren’t in good form before are playing well now and the coach is to blame. I’m happy for him because I know, respect and admire him. It must fill him with satisfaction to see his team playing so well. I’m happy for that.

People say you will have to fiercely mark men like Messi…
It’s normal for players like him to be in the receiving end of kicks more often. They try to make a difference, but I don’t think they receive an excessive amount of aggressiveness. It’s normal.

Do you feel stronger in games like these?
This is the game. Everyone talks about it and you know the whole world is watching. Every player dreams about playing such a match and I’ve been lucky to take part in many and star in some. I hope the whole team is the star on Saturday.

Will you also score a hat trick against Barcelona?
I don’t think so. I’ve only scored three hat tricks in 15 years. I wish I could pull it off again, but I just really want Real Madrid to win.