Jose Mourinho has called 24 of his players up for Tuesday’s Champions’ League Last 16, 2nd leg showdown with Manchester United. Just as he did for the Copa del Rey game against Barcelona, the Portuguese manager has landed in Manchester with the entire squad with him, including the injured Iker Casillas. It certainly looks like the Mourinho/Madrid siege mentality is back!
Here’s the list:
FOUR Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas, Adán, Diego López and Jesús.
Defenders: Ramos, Arbeloa, Marcelo, Albiol, Varane, Pepe, Coentrão and Carvalho.
Midfielders: Modric, Alonso, Khedira, Özil, Kaká, Callejón, Di María and Essien.
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, Higuaín and Morata.
The Galacticos arrived at Manchester last night and Cristiano Ronaldo was unsurprisingly the focus of the attention for the fans that gathered to greet Real Madrid on their arrival. The Whites arrived in the northern city at 23:30 local time, two days ahead of the clash, in order to avoid problems with Spanish airline, Iberia’s planned strikes. It is reported that Mourinho’s men have settled down at the Hilton Manchester Deansgate.
The team will start their preparation at 15:00 local time today and Jose has denied the offer from United to train at the Old Trafford and instead will be training at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium as the manager fears United may have their spies looking out to foil his game plan.
Turkish referee Cüneyt Cakir will be in charge of Tuesday’s glamour tie at Old Trafford. This is set to be the third time in which he oversees a Madrid game.
Ahead of the game, two of Real Madrid’s playmakers have stated that their team is confident of getting a positive result from seconf leg.
Mesut Ozil: “It’s going to be a difficult game against a very good team, but we showed what we are capable of in the first leg.
“I love playing against the best teams. The whole world are watching.“We were clearly better in the first half (of the first leg), with a lot of chances. We have a lot of respect for United, but our objective is to play the way we know we can best as when we do, we can beat anyone. The team that beat Barca can also win in Manchester.”
Kaka: “All footballers want to play in games like this. We came out of the first game at the Bernabeu with the feeling that we could have won and we also think we can win in England and get through this round. United are very strong, but we go to Old Trafford full of confidence.”“[United] are a team with a huge tradition in Europe and they always go far in the competitions they participate in. On top of this, they have excellent players on an individual level, such as Rooney and Van Persie. The stadium is fantastic due to its atmosphere and the fans.”
Manchester United updates:
Sir Alex Ferguson has been waiting nervously to know the situation of midfield stopper Phil Jones, who was excellent during the first leg of the tie at the Santiago Bernabeu. Jones picked up an ankle injury during United’s 2-1 FA cup victory over Reading and has not featured for them since. There will be a late fitness test tomorrow and if the youngster proves his fitness, he could be available for selection.
However One man who will certainly play is Michael Carrick, and the midfielder is looking forward to the game. Talking to the Manchester daily ahead of the game, he said:
“These are the nights you live for. It is extra special. There is just something in the air. Everyone comes to the stadium with a spring in their step. Every supporter is that little bit more vocal. They appreciate how important it is and what it means to get through.
“The prestige and history of the club suggests we should be challenging in the later stages of these tournaments. It is up to us to go out there and do it.”
Probable line-ups:
Manchester United: David de Gea, Rafael, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Nani, Wayne Rooney, Shinji Kagawa, Robin van Persie.
Real Madrid: Diego Lopez, Alvaro Arbeloa, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos, Fabio Coentrao, Xabi Alonso, Sami Khedira, Angel Di Maria, Mesut Ozil, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gonzalo Higuain.