Ronaldo backed to shine despite Madrid row
Cristiano RONALDO
will put his latest controversy behind him and rescue Real Madrid
from their faltering start to La Liga season, his teammates have
insisted.
The Portuguese star described himself as being 'sad' after scoring
twice in a 3-0 win over Granada without offering further explanation and
his words have kept him in the eye of a storm in Spain during the
international break.
Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo AFP |
Media speculation has focussed on his current contract being the
source of his discontent, but Ronaldo has denied this.
“I want to underline that all my attention is fully on winning games
and all the trophies possible, with no worries about contracts, and to
do that I am counting on the crucial support of my teammates and all
Madrid fans,” he said.
A number of his colleagues have also been quick to play down any
problems his words may have caused within the Madrid camp and defender
Alvaro Arbeloa believes the fans will also be supportive when the team
takes on Sevilla on Saturday.
“All parties involved have put behind them whatever problem there was
and I think the fans will also, in fact I think the crowd will cheer him
more than ever,” he said.
Strike partner Gonzalo Higuain has added his support, declaring
Ronaldo “always seems happy”.
“We should not pay too much notice to what he said, but we have to
win in Seville, we can't afford to drop more points in the league,” he
said.
Madrid find themselves five points adrift of La Liga leaders
Barcelona after only three league games. Barcelona go to a Getafe side
on Saturday that has already beaten Madrid this season. They were also
just one of the teams to beat the Catalans last term.
Getafe midfielder Jaime Gavilan is confident his side can repeat
those two results.
“We want to take something positive from the match. On paper they are
better then us but it's eleven against eleven and each match is
different so anything is possible,” he said.
Barca will have to do without Andres Iniesta and Chilean forward
Alexis Sanchez who have returned from international duty with abductor
and thigh injuries.
Winger Pedro Rodriguez insists that they will face a difficult task
in the south of Madrid.
“This weekend will be crucial. Getafe will be a key match for us,” he
said.
Rayo Vallecano and Atletico Madrid meet in a derby on Sunday with
both sides from the capital still unbeaten while Malaga, also
undefeated, kick-off the weekend on Saturday at home to Levante.
Osasuna and Espanyol are the only two sides still to win a point this
season.
Both will be keen to get off the mark in winnable home matches
against Mallorca and Athletic Bilbao for who Fernando Llorente is yet to
make a start this season and struggling again to make the squad.
Saturday Malagav Levante (1400 GMT), Valencia vCelta (1600 GMT),
Getafe v Barcelona (1800 GMT), Sevilla v RealMadrid (2000 GMT)
SundaMADRID,FRIDAY,
AFP, |