Real Madrid News
Carvajal praises Real Madrid teammate ahead of Osasuna clash: “One of the best in the world”
Real Madrid will be looking to end their Copa del Rey drought when they take on CA Osasuna at Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville on Saturday night.
The Merengues have not won the King’s Cup since 2014, during Carlo Ancelotti’s first stint as the manager of the club. And they will now be gunning to win the elusive trophy again in the face of their flailing La Liga campaign.
Ahead of the game, senior defender Dani Carvajal interacted with the media and touched on several topics, including the Copa del Rey drought as well as the controversies surrounding Vinicius Jr being targeted by opposition players.
Kicking things off, Carvajal said: “First of all, I would like to offer my condolences to the family of Arsenio Iglesias.”
Then talking about the Copa final, the defender added: “I won my first title which was the Copa del Rey, 9 years ago. We are very excited. We know it will be a difficult game. I’m plugged in, in the locker room there are many players accustomed to playing these kind of games.”
Talking about the season objectives of the team at the start of the season and now, Carvajal said: “At the beginning of the season we set ourselves the goal of winning everything. The Cup was missing, the clubs are facing it with great enthusiasm. We always fight for everything and this year we have achieved the goal of reaching the final.”
The right-back also insisted that Real Madrid were not the favourites for the game, claiming that Osasuna can be a complicated opponent.
“We don’t consider ourselves favorites. Osasuna has made merits to get here, we saw that they managed to endure against Barcelona with one player less. They are a complicated rival.”
The Real Madrid veteran also spoke about Vinicius Jr, saying: “When he arrived we already saw that he was going to be a star. He was meme fodder and when he received all that criticism, he got over it. Now he’s one of the best in the world and everything he has, he’s earned it.”
On the refereeing and his arguments with match officials, Carvajal said: “Perhaps I complain to the referees a lot, it’s something that should be corrected. The other day my red card cost us the game. We always try to talk to them.”
“As Courtois said, the referees try to do their best, act without premeditation and perhaps they should favour the fast game and prevent the teams from destroying the game. It should be a point to be corrected for next season.”
On the differences between the Champions League and the Copa final, he said: “I notice differences between the Cup and Champions League finals. There is a special atmosphere because some players don’t have this title. Our way of working doesn’t change, you always have emotions before such a game.”
Talking about the decisive stretch of the campaign, he added: “We have two weeks in which our season will be practically decided because the league has been very complicated for us. Tomorrow we want to get a new title, which will mean we have won all the titles in two years. Our focus is only on Osasuna.”
Source: Real Madrid Twitter
Real Madrid News
Real Madrid resolve their pitch problems as the Bernabeu surface returns to good condition
After years of problems with the pitch, Real Madrid now believe that those issues are now a thing of the past, reports MARCA.
For several seasons, the playing surface at the Santiago Bernabeu had become one of Real Madrid’s biggest headaches. Five pitch changes in a single season, paint used to disguise its poor appearance on television and criticism from all sides.
The club had been trying to solve the problem for some time and now, they believe they have finally found an answer.
The Bernabeu begins to put its turf problems behind it
The latest operation was accelerated following the NFL game between the Miami Dolphins and the Commanders, forcing the club to replace the playing surface in just 72 hours to meet the deadline last season. This time, however, there was an important difference.
After establishing that the underlying structure was in good condition, Real Madrid decided to retain the existing turf panels and hybrid stitching system rather than remove everything and start again.
The new grass was installed over the existing base after being cultivated for several months. The variety selected was RyeBlue Deportivo, a high-performance mixture consisting of 50% perennial ryegrass and 50% Poa pratensis.
Real Madrid hoped the combination would provide a definitive solution. The club’s groundskeeping team has since refined the maintenance process, and the results are encouraging.
The Bernabeu is now in a condition that satisfies the club, and there are no plans to make further changes to the playing surface during the season.
It is the outcome Real Madrid have been pursuing for years, following a situation that eventually concerned the players themselves.
Major concerts remain the Bernabeu’s outstanding challenge
While the pitch problem appears to have been brought under control, the return of major concerts remains the Bernabeu’s biggest unresolved issue.
Real Madrid have spent months working to address the noise problems that forced them to suspend large-scale concerts.
The work has included soundproofing improvements and other measures designed to prevent noise from escaping the stadium. However, there is still no confirmed date for the return of major events.
Real Madrid believe the work carried out has brought the stadium closer to an optimal level of sound insulation.
Several areas have been reinforced to reduce noise escaping outside, with particular attention paid to entrances, enclosures and other points through which sound waves could travel.
The structural soundproofing work is understood to be nearing completion, with final architectural finishing work and official sound-emission tests still outstanding.
In the meantime, Real Madrid are exploring ways to make a return to large-scale events more feasible.
The aim is to make full use of the improvements already completed and establish a model that allows the club to revive an activity that was one of the major commercial attractions of the renovated stadium.
Until that becomes possible, Real Madrid continue to explore other ways of generating revenue from the Bernabeu. Corporate events, award ceremonies, conferences and private celebrations remain among the alternatives.
For Real Madrid, resolving the pitch issue is a significant step forward. Restoring large-scale entertainment to the Bernabeu remains the next major objective.
