Post-Athletic round-up!
Karanka: "We are still leaders and we'll see what happens on Monday."
Once again, Karanka filled in for Jose at the post-match press conference. Am I the only one who thinks he's kind of cute? Anyway, here's what he had to say about Athletic's performance, Casillas's integral role in the team, Barcelona, and, yes, Sergio taking the penalty, and none-too-meekly at that!
"The fact that Sergio Ramos took the penalty is simply an anecdote. Cristiano normally takes them, but Sergio Ramos was feeling confident and approached to take it. They discussed it and the Portuguese let him take it. I don't know what they said to one another, but it wasn't a problem. Mourinho must have been surprised by it. He has everything under control, so to see something like that when he's not on the bench must have surprised him."
"We didn't play great in the first half. Athletic are the best team to have passed through here this year. They deserve a lot of credit. Llorente, Muniain and Susaeta gave us a lot of trouble. But that is why we have Casillas. He continues to prove that he is a great goalkeeper. We had some trouble when we were up 2-1. Athletic could have taken the lead, which would have really complicated things for us."
"Caparros had said that one of our keys is that we have been able to win matches 4-0 without playing well. Our speed in attack is a great attribute. Today we won 5-1 and whatever comes down the road will come. Our fans are behind us 100%. They proved it against Murcia and again tonight."
"I didn't see Barcelona's match, but all that matters is that we are still leaders. We will see what happens next Monday, but first we are thinking about our next match this coming Tuesday. There will be some changes against Ajax. Things are going well and we have players that can play at any moment."
There's your answer to the penalty question, and I have to say that I think it's great. Cris has definitely become more of a team player at RM. When I look ahead to Ajax, my greatest hope is that we rest some of our players - namely Cris and Carvalho. Yes, it would be great to win the group, but we've qualified and it's important for everyone to be fit for El Clasico. Carvalho and Cris both have residual (but thus far thankfully mild) injuries that are still causing some limping and we can't afford to lose either of them. Moreover, this is a great opportunity for a lot of our other players to get playing time, namely Benz and Pedro Leon.
Sergio: "This is the best team in the world by far."
Cris flex-fist pumps.
Our boys speak! Their performances varied, but for the most part I was pleased with them. More than anything, I was impressed with their resilience and determination. They went back into the locker room after the first half, regrouped, and came back out fighting. Athletic had pretty much no chances during the last third and that was a testament to our ability to group together and form a Megazord cohesive force. I liked the way we looked in the latter minutes of the games and I remain optimistic about El Clasico. Ronaldo: "Our two first half goals were important, but we only got better in the second. We have a great team and we are very happy. I am also happy that I scored, but all that matters is that we won. I play hard to win the league; winning the Pichichi does not matter to me."
Sergio Ramos:
"I hope football fans enjoy a great match next week and that we bring a win back to Madrid. We don't need to pay attention to anyone but ourselves. We have our own identity and we hope to stay on track. This is the best team in the world by far."
Pepe:
"The three points are all that count. We are going to the Camp Nou as leaders and we hope to do well there. We try to prove that we have a great team in every match. Scoring was good for Sergio and it helped the team extend the lead."
Marcelo:
"We aren't thinking about Barcelona. We still have an important Champions League match to play."
Di Maria:"We planned on being in this situation since the Malaga match and we are happy to see it through. We managed to control the match and eventually win it after a complicated first half. I was worn out by the end because of all the matches we have been playing and all the traveling. All that counts, though, is that we are in good shape and no one was injured."
Higuain:
"Our goal after Malaga was to win all our matches to reach the Clasico as leaders. It was a lopsided win but it wasn't as pretty as past matches. All that matters is that we won and are leaders. I am happy to have helped the team. I didn't know it was my sixth goal against Athletic."
"Casillas was great in the first half. He made several saves on balls that could have gone in. We managed to take care of business in the second with several goals."
Carvalho:
"The Clasico will be a tough match because Barcelona is a team that has been playing together for a long time, but we are also in good form and we hope we win. I know we can."
Kudos to our boys for recognizing their weaknesses and not flaunting their win needlessly like certain teams, ahem. And kudos for Cris to keeping a team mentality, even though I'm sure he would love to win the trophy. I was a little WTF about Sergio taking the penalty, but building his confidence WAS important after some of his frustration in the last games. The one piece of bad news is that Khedira is suffering from pain to the back of his right thigh. Fingers crossed that it turns out to be nothing!
Question(s) of the day: What lineup do you want to see at Ajax? How important is it to you that we trounce them, and how important is it to you for us to rest up for El Clasico? Karanka said there will be changes; Who do you think deserves a chance to play?
Match download, as always!
Once again, Karanka filled in for Jose at the post-match press conference. Am I the only one who thinks he's kind of cute? Anyway, here's what he had to say about Athletic's performance, Casillas's integral role in the team, Barcelona, and, yes, Sergio taking the penalty, and none-too-meekly at that!
"The fact that Sergio Ramos took the penalty is simply an anecdote. Cristiano normally takes them, but Sergio Ramos was feeling confident and approached to take it. They discussed it and the Portuguese let him take it. I don't know what they said to one another, but it wasn't a problem. Mourinho must have been surprised by it. He has everything under control, so to see something like that when he's not on the bench must have surprised him."
"We didn't play great in the first half. Athletic are the best team to have passed through here this year. They deserve a lot of credit. Llorente, Muniain and Susaeta gave us a lot of trouble. But that is why we have Casillas. He continues to prove that he is a great goalkeeper. We had some trouble when we were up 2-1. Athletic could have taken the lead, which would have really complicated things for us."
"Caparros had said that one of our keys is that we have been able to win matches 4-0 without playing well. Our speed in attack is a great attribute. Today we won 5-1 and whatever comes down the road will come. Our fans are behind us 100%. They proved it against Murcia and again tonight."
"I didn't see Barcelona's match, but all that matters is that we are still leaders. We will see what happens next Monday, but first we are thinking about our next match this coming Tuesday. There will be some changes against Ajax. Things are going well and we have players that can play at any moment."
There's your answer to the penalty question, and I have to say that I think it's great. Cris has definitely become more of a team player at RM. When I look ahead to Ajax, my greatest hope is that we rest some of our players - namely Cris and Carvalho. Yes, it would be great to win the group, but we've qualified and it's important for everyone to be fit for El Clasico. Carvalho and Cris both have residual (but thus far thankfully mild) injuries that are still causing some limping and we can't afford to lose either of them. Moreover, this is a great opportunity for a lot of our other players to get playing time, namely Benz and Pedro Leon.
Sergio: "This is the best team in the world by far."
Cris flex-fist pumps.
Our boys speak! Their performances varied, but for the most part I was pleased with them. More than anything, I was impressed with their resilience and determination. They went back into the locker room after the first half, regrouped, and came back out fighting. Athletic had pretty much no chances during the last third and that was a testament to our ability to group together and form a Megazord cohesive force. I liked the way we looked in the latter minutes of the games and I remain optimistic about El Clasico. Ronaldo: "Our two first half goals were important, but we only got better in the second. We have a great team and we are very happy. I am also happy that I scored, but all that matters is that we won. I play hard to win the league; winning the Pichichi does not matter to me."
Sergio Ramos:
"I hope football fans enjoy a great match next week and that we bring a win back to Madrid. We don't need to pay attention to anyone but ourselves. We have our own identity and we hope to stay on track. This is the best team in the world by far."
Pepe:
"The three points are all that count. We are going to the Camp Nou as leaders and we hope to do well there. We try to prove that we have a great team in every match. Scoring was good for Sergio and it helped the team extend the lead."
Marcelo:
"We aren't thinking about Barcelona. We still have an important Champions League match to play."
Di Maria:"We planned on being in this situation since the Malaga match and we are happy to see it through. We managed to control the match and eventually win it after a complicated first half. I was worn out by the end because of all the matches we have been playing and all the traveling. All that counts, though, is that we are in good shape and no one was injured."
Higuain:
"Our goal after Malaga was to win all our matches to reach the Clasico as leaders. It was a lopsided win but it wasn't as pretty as past matches. All that matters is that we won and are leaders. I am happy to have helped the team. I didn't know it was my sixth goal against Athletic."
"Casillas was great in the first half. He made several saves on balls that could have gone in. We managed to take care of business in the second with several goals."
Carvalho:
"The Clasico will be a tough match because Barcelona is a team that has been playing together for a long time, but we are also in good form and we hope we win. I know we can."
Kudos to our boys for recognizing their weaknesses and not flaunting their win needlessly like certain teams, ahem. And kudos for Cris to keeping a team mentality, even though I'm sure he would love to win the trophy. I was a little WTF about Sergio taking the penalty, but building his confidence WAS important after some of his frustration in the last games. The one piece of bad news is that Khedira is suffering from pain to the back of his right thigh. Fingers crossed that it turns out to be nothing!
Question(s) of the day: What lineup do you want to see at Ajax? How important is it to you that we trounce them, and how important is it to you for us to rest up for El Clasico? Karanka said there will be changes; Who do you think deserves a chance to play?
Match download, as always!