"It Would Hurt Me To See Barcelona Win The Final In The Bernabéu"
It Would Hurt Me To See Barcelona Win The Final In The Bernabéu
Speaking today in a post-training press conference, Real Madrid right-back Álvaro Arbeloa praised eternal rivals Barcelona for the footballing clinic the Blaugrana put on against Stuttgart in the Champions League yesterday to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals.
"Barcelona are playing extraordinarily well," said the defender in comments reported by Marca. "We are talking about one of the best teams in history. They are playing very well and one needs to recognise that. For us, it will be very difficult to win La Liga against this team, but this motivates us more."
Arbeloa also spoke of the personal difficulty it would cause him to see Barça play the Champions League final on the Madrid home pitch. "It would cause me pain to see Barcelona play the Champions League final in the Bernabéu. If it happens, it will remind us that we were not capable of accomplishing such an important goal and they were.
"I am not envious of them [Barça]; I am very happy to be at Real Madrid and I would not change my place for any player at Barcelona. If they are in the quarter-finals, it is because they deserve it and we do not."
Arbeloa also defended coach Manuel Pellegrini's work at the Spanish capital club, qualifying his coach as the best in the world. "I think that right now we have the best coach in the world for Real Madrid and that is Pellegrini. We have a great coach and the fans should show him unconditional support."
A number of coaches have been linked to the Bernabéu, one of whom has been Arbeloa's former coach, Liverpool's Rafa Benítez. "Rafa is a great coach and the only one I see better for Real Madrid is Manuel Pellegrini."
The right-back believes it to be 'normal' for so many rumours to be printed in the press about coaching changes at the Spanish capital, but preferred to stay focused on this weekend's match against Sporting de Gijón. "We have a difficult match this weekend against a team that played us very well in El Molinón in a match we were not able to win. Right now they are very good, with confidence and they have nothing to lose. We are going to have to sweat to beat them."
Speaking today in a post-training press conference, Real Madrid right-back Álvaro Arbeloa praised eternal rivals Barcelona for the footballing clinic the Blaugrana put on against Stuttgart in the Champions League yesterday to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals.
"Barcelona are playing extraordinarily well," said the defender in comments reported by Marca. "We are talking about one of the best teams in history. They are playing very well and one needs to recognise that. For us, it will be very difficult to win La Liga against this team, but this motivates us more."
Arbeloa also spoke of the personal difficulty it would cause him to see Barça play the Champions League final on the Madrid home pitch. "It would cause me pain to see Barcelona play the Champions League final in the Bernabéu. If it happens, it will remind us that we were not capable of accomplishing such an important goal and they were.
"I am not envious of them [Barça]; I am very happy to be at Real Madrid and I would not change my place for any player at Barcelona. If they are in the quarter-finals, it is because they deserve it and we do not."
Arbeloa also defended coach Manuel Pellegrini's work at the Spanish capital club, qualifying his coach as the best in the world. "I think that right now we have the best coach in the world for Real Madrid and that is Pellegrini. We have a great coach and the fans should show him unconditional support."
A number of coaches have been linked to the Bernabéu, one of whom has been Arbeloa's former coach, Liverpool's Rafa Benítez. "Rafa is a great coach and the only one I see better for Real Madrid is Manuel Pellegrini."
The right-back believes it to be 'normal' for so many rumours to be printed in the press about coaching changes at the Spanish capital, but preferred to stay focused on this weekend's match against Sporting de Gijón. "We have a difficult match this weekend against a team that played us very well in El Molinón in a match we were not able to win. Right now they are very good, with confidence and they have nothing to lose. We are going to have to sweat to beat them."