Post-match comments

Director General Jorge Valdano commented on the fans’ support and reaffirmed his confidence in the team’s work following the match. Manuel Pellegrini offered his thoughts following Real Madrid’s elimination from the Copa del Rey. Pepe was visibly upset after Real Madrid was knocked out of the King’s Cup on Tuesday. Raul Albiol expressed his dissatisfaction after Real Madrid’s elimination from the Copa.

Valdano:

I want to thank the 80,000 people who came to support us. It wasn’t  an easy night and the fans always stood by the team. We can’t think about it too much. The team tried hard in both matches. We have a lot of work ahead.

Things that appear impossible can happen in this sport. We played well and had our chances, but we lacked continuity. We weren’t fluid enough to stage the turnaround. Anxiety can perhaps betray in matches like these. We have complete faith in Pellegrini and there is no other option. We need to continue working with humility to reach the level we desire.

The fact that Cristiano Ronaldo is hurt is bad news. The situation was almost like a war between Portugal and Real Madrid, when the only problem was an injured player. He would have probably played had he been somewhat healthy. We hope he recovers soon.

Guti hasn’t been called up recently. There is no underlying issie. The coach has said that he will have a place on the team when he is ready. We are waiting for him with open arms because we need him.

Pellegrini:

The crowd was mad when Lass was taken out. I understand because he was playing well, but I thought it was the best move for him. He has been playing a lot and he pushed himself to the limit. I thought it was in his best interest and that an injury was possible.

We try to work with two formulas. In the first half we tried to recover the ball with speed and retain possession. In the second we brought in Van der Vaart to try to change the tendency. We lacked mobility and football in attack. We did what we thought was best, but the first leg made it an uphill battle.

I knew the crowd wouldn’t like it when Lass came out. I think it is important that he doesn’t sustain any injury. I put the players and team before myself.

Everyone can give their own grade. We were eliminated by a team from Segunda B. We can feel regret, but it’s over. I know the players are on my side. It is hard to turn around a 4-0 because there are so many factors. I would have loved to continue, but it is the start of a season that will end well.

I don’t regret the lineup. I think they are the players who belonged on the pitch. I said it from the start: I have faith in the whole squad, not just the team. The squad is deep enough to have continued, which is why I have no regrets.

Van Nistelrooy has been training with the team for two months. He played several minutes during the first leg. He is important, but he will not recover if he doesn’t play.

Pepe:

We are very disappointed and sad for not making it through. Congratulations to Alcorcon. They deserve it. There is no explanation or excuse. We were obligated to go through, but it didn’t happen. It is one of the saddest nights I have had. I was looking forward to doing well in this competition. I know it is a bad night for Madridismo.

We hear everything on the pitch. Fans have the right to complain about the effort put forth by the coach and players. We have to stick with the positive aspects despite all the negative. We gave it our best until the end. We take the blame, but we are looking ahead.

Cristiano Ronaldo is important to Portugal, but he cannot play right now and has to make a full recovery.

Albiol:

The players are at fault. We played a terrible first leg. We lost 4-0. We didn’t play up to par with what Real Madrid demands. Alcorcon worked hard and deserved it.

It was a lopsided result. It was complicated after we didn’t score early. We were level going into halftime. We must learn from this, we need to congratulate the opponent and we need to understand that we threw away a title. We had trouble scoring and only managed one in the closing minutes. We had a lot of hope of scoring early, but that wasn’t the case and it got more difficult. They played two good matches.

We have to deal with it and understand that there are two competitions left. We need to move on. The season cannot end in November.