Real Madrid have a crucial game against Barcelona coming up later this week. Distraction could be an issue. Meanwhile, the tactical and physical approach against Bayern Munich may be affected as El Clasico will require Los Blancos to be in top form. Defender Sergio Ramos has called on his team mates to take it one match at a time to avoid blowing everything away during this important period in April.
“We must not think about Barcelona or the Spanish title. We are playing in the Champions League semi-final against Bayern,” Ramos told reporters on Monday.
“We are playing against a world-class team. They have a lot of quality in their team and players like [Arjen] Robben or [Mario] Gomez who can make the difference.”
Former La Liga and Supercopa de Espana winner Arjen Robben is well-placed to talk about Real Madrid. The Dutch winger spent two seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu between 2007 and 2009 and made 65 appearances, scoring 13 goals in the process. Aware of Real Madrid’s attacking form this season, Robben told Marca:
“We have no doubt that to eliminate Madrid, we will have to be at 120 per cent, at our maximum, and play the perfect game. There are no secrets to Madrid. Their enormous potential is clear.
“Most importantly, they have the best coach, who always knows how to play these games. They have incredible quality in attack. You can't give them a metre [of space]. You have to watch them closely the whole time.”
Real Madrid enter Tuesday’s Champions League match at the Allianz Arena having scored more than 130 goals in all competitions this season. German coach Jupp Heynckes has nothing but admiration for the Spanish giants. Kicker quoted him as saying:
“Real Madrid are an attacking machine with incredible power up front. Madrid are pure in attack. They're completely different to the teams from the Galacticos era. Everybody is thinking about the team now.”
One player that stands out among the rest under the spotlight is Cristiano Ronaldo. Christoph Metzelder, also a former Real Madrid player, feels Ronaldo might have a huge impact on this semi-final tie. Speaking to Goal.com, the Schalke defender acknowledged:
“Cristiano Ronaldo is an absolute superstar. He is the one that everyone looks to to decide the game.”
However, there is more to the Bayern-Madrid clash than Cristiano Ronaldo. History is on the Germans’ side. They have won 10 out of 18 competitive meetings against Los Blancos.
“I think Real Madrid have more respect for Bayern than vice versa. In Madrid, the Muncheners are not
called 'Bestia Negra' for nothing,” Metzelder reminded before quickly singling out the Santiago Bernabeu factor.
“The downside for Bayern is that the second leg is in Madrid. I played there for years and can say from experience that Real can win impossible games there.”
So what impact will Real Madrid’s poor record against Bayern Munich have on this year’s 2011/12 UEFA Champions League semi-finals tie?
“The past is all about meaningless numbers. History will not play a factor tomorrow [Tuesday],” Jose Mourinho confidently stated during the pre-match press conference.
“This will be a different match from the previous ones. This is a semi-final; those who play it want to win. Bayern have the special motivation as the final is in Munich, but we have the motivation of being here for the second year in a row.
“We will see what happens.”
The action at the Allianz Arena between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid begins at 2:45pm EST.
