Real Madrid News
Official: Real Madrid squad list to face Cadiz
With ten gameweeks remaining in the La Liga schedule, the title is pretty much done and dusted. Barcelona have a 13-point lead on top of the table, with little to no scope of dropping it.
13 points behind, Real Madrid will be hoping to cement the runners up spot across the next games, especially with Atletico Madrid just two points behind them.
Tomorrow, Madrid will have a chance to increase the lead to five points against Atletico, albeit temporarily, when they travel to Cadiz. With one eye on the return leg against Chelsea, Carlo Ancelotti has decided to rest a few players for tomorrow.
The entirety of the defence, except Ferland Mendy, is fit and in contention to travel, including David Alaba, who was suffering with injury problems last month.
Toni Kroos started as the pivot over Aurelien Tchouameni against Chelsea, but picked up some muscle discomfort in training, and therefore, has been rested for the Cadiz clash.
Vinicius Jr was the official man of the match in the UCL for his two assists, and has been given tomorrow off to keep him fresh to face Chelsea again.
📋✅ Our squad for the match 🆚 @Cadiz_CF!#CádizRealMadrid pic.twitter.com/iy0CPN79G9
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 14, 2023
Real Madrid News
Inter Milan boss Chivu praises Mourinho ahead of Real Madrid showdown: ‘A special person’
Inter Milan head coach Cristian Chivu has described Jose Mourinho as “a special person” ahead of Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League meeting with Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Romanian spent two seasons playing under Mourinho at Inter between 2008 and 2010, a period that culminated in the club winning the Champions League at the very same stadium in 2010.
A serial winner
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Chivu reflected warmly on his former manager.
“He’s a special person who I was lucky enough to meet in my life. He gave me important help during a difficult period of my life, and I’ll never forget that,” Chivu said, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo.
Chivu also praised Mourinho’s ability to influence the teams he manages and instil his mentality in his players.
“He’s very good at immersing himself in the reality of the team he represents and transmitting his mentality. He’s a winner who knows how to communicate things at the right moment. Very few people know how to do that like he does,” he said.
“He has won everywhere he has been, and I’m sure Real Madrid will have a great season.”
Despite his admiration for Mourinho, Chivu insisted that the Portuguese has not served as a template for his own coaching career.
Asked whether he takes inspiration from his former manager, the Inter boss replied: “I’ve never copied anyone. I have my own idea of football, which has been built through my years as a player and as a coach.”
Chivu assesses Mourinho’s Real Madrid
Chivu believes it is still too early to draw firm conclusions about Mourinho’s return to Real Madrid.
“It’s still very early. It has been a fairly balanced start, although they lost their last match undeservedly because they played very well,” he said.
“They’re a team with a great history and a coach who knows how to do things.”
“Playing at the Bernabeu is not easy for anyone”
With Mourinho in the dugout and Chivu in defence, Inter defeated Bayern Munich in the 2010 Champions League final at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The now-Inter manager believes returning to the stadium where they lifted the trophy 16 years ago will provide a special occasion, although he knows the challenge facing his team.
“The stadium has been renovated and it’s even more beautiful. It has a great tradition and today it’s more beautiful and more modern. We like playing a Champions League match in this stadium,” he said.
“Playing at the Bernabeu is not easy for anyone. Inter haven’t won here for 60 years. We’ll do everything possible and we want to show that we’re competitive and that we have the desire to dominate.
“There’s no perfect way to play against Real Madrid because they have players who can make the difference regardless of the plan you have.”
Inter arrive in Madrid after recovering from a difficult game against Napoli, while Chivu prepares to face the coach who played such an important role in his career.
Pat Grey
April 14, 2023 at 2:54 pm
I’m so glad that wasteful Vinicius is benched this time around. He’s too selfish and stylist for comfort. He unnecessarily holds on to the ball until he is dispossessed of it most times. Very frustrating. He hardly passes the ball to other players even when these players are better positioned to score. He is a million miles away from Messi who is always passing the ball when he’s not scoring. Vinicius also lacks force in his legs to score even when he’s face to face with a goalkeeper. In addition to being too irritable and quarrelsome on the pitch, Vinicius now feels he’s indispensable and is allowed to always start games by a coach who has overrated him, while stupidly leaving an ace scorer like Asensio on the bench for most of the time, only to have Asensio score when he comes into the game. That coach himself needs to go at the end of the season as he is lacking in creativity these days and no longer good at setting up the team.