Real Madrid’s coach spoke about the current state of affairs: Casillas’departure, new arrivals and stated that Ramos will be staying on.
How is the team shaping up? “The sensations are very good. It’s a very professional group of players. They look focused and they’re working hard. They do everything they’re asked to do,
with a great appetite. It’s a very good squad”.
Casillas: “The first player I called when I took the job was Iker.
He is the player I have spoken the most to. When I discovered that he was planning on leaving, I kept abreast of everything that was happening with the negotiations. He has left us and I
wish him all the best because he is a legend. I don’t like seeing madridismo divided and I don’t like seeing an ongoing debate which now shouldn’t be being discussed. My responsibility is making
everybody understand that all of us have to lend a hand to whoever comes in to take over Casillas’ place. We want to win a lot of silverware and we have to be united”.
Is making sure Ramos stays your priority? Can you assure us that he will continue? “For me, the priority is extracting the best performance from an excellent group of players. This is a very good squad and it’s not easy to find better players than the ones who are here. The way Sergio trains is sensational. People had already told me about him and
it is a great satisfaction to me to see how immersed he is in his work.
The president has said that he will continue and that he will remain with us. If that happens, I will be the happiest man in the world. The dedication and involvement I see in him is what makes him such a great captain”.
Have you spoken to Ramos? “I have spoken to Sergio several times over the summer and when we were in Madrid we discussed his future, his ideas and our plans. It’s not an issue we have talked about since then. My only worry is that he works hard and trains hard. I see the
future of Madrid with Sergio because he is a fundamental player for us for all of his qualities, his mentality and his leadership”.
De Gea: “He is not one of our players, he belongs to another club. We have excellent goalkeepers here and we have to work so that they can become even better”.
Ødegaard: “He’s a player I like a lot. I’ve been very impressed with him, he is very technically gifted. Physically, he trains well, he’s got pace, resistance and concentration. He’s got skill and a great deal of energy.
He’s very young and we have to decide what to do in the immediate future – whether it would be better for him to continue with us or be loaned out to gain more playing time. Right now, he’s training with us and I want to see him progress. I want to see him put himself in a good position so that he perform to his best”.
Which player do you like the best? “If you were to ask my daughter who she prefers, her mother or her father, she wouldn’t know what to say.
It’s a difficult question to answer. Cristiano, Bale, Benzema James,
Isco... there’s so much talent and all of them are players of such a high level that there is no way I could choose; I am just happy to have all of them in the side. It’s a nice problem to have and I have the same
problem in defence and in midfield. With hard work, the squad can get even better”.
Are you concerned by the goalkeeping situation – having keepers with the squad in Melbourne while there is talk of Casilla and De Gea joining? “No, I’m not worried. The goals measure 7.32 by 2.44 and
that doesn’t change. It’s very easy – you stand between the posts and you do your job. Keylor fully understands the situation. For experience and for quality, he is higher up the pecking order than Rubén and Pacheco. If another goalkeeper comes along, great – we will work with them. I am optimistic and relaxed about the goalkeeping situation.
We’ve got a good team and if we can improve and become even more
competitive in that position then great”.
New signings: “I am working with the squad, the club is keeping an eye on the market but it’s not easy. Of course I would love to have a lot of very good players; when I sit down with my technical team, we analyze the options. It’s not only about finding good players, you have to be in
position where you are able to buy them. It was much easier before, there were fewer clubs with great economic power. Now there are a lot of clubs who pay good salaries and coaxing those players away is not easy. Before you could sign players from other clubs but that is much harder to do now. We are trying to improve the squad but earlier today we saw Spain’s Under-19s with Asensio and Mayoral who are showing themselves to be amongst the best young players in Europe. There is a very good group of young players coming through. Watching them
developing in the way that I have done with other players during my career, I know that they need an opportunity but I’m not stupid and I know that before that, we have to win. If we can find a balance
between players who are already performing to the required level and
allowing the youth players to progress, we will create a base similar to the one Madrid had when I was first here with 14 players from the youth team and seven regular starters. You have to try to ensure that young players can come up and contribute competitiveness, but that is much harder to achieve than it seems”.
Source : As