Together – Real Madrid coach, the Italian Carlo Ancelotti, warned his players that the Champions League final is the ‘most dangerous match’ in football on the eve of facing Germany’s Borussia Dortmund on Saturday at Wembley.
The Italian coach, who won the prestigious continental competition title a record four times, said that the royal team “fears that the title will escape it.”
Los Blancos, the defending champions a record 14 times, are considered the most likely party to win against their German counterpart, who won the title once in 1997.
‘The Champions League final is the most important match, but also the most dangerous,’ Ancelotti said in a press conference on Friday.
He continued, “We have to enjoy being here, but knowing that things may get worse because we are close to the most important thing in football, winning the Champions League, but we have a fear that the title may escape us.”
He added, “Things must go well, and you must also be lucky. Success is very close, so the anxiety begins tomorr
ow morning (Saturday) and tomorrow afternoon.”
For his part, Real Madrid captain Nacho said that he felt confident but also nervous.
“There is more tension than at any other time of the season,” he explained.
He continued, “We are human beings. It is a quiet week (for some people), but for the players, it is not so. It is something special and there is no doubt that it does not make it quiet.”
For his part, veteran Croatian midfielder Luka Modric believed that despite Madrid’s strength compared to Dortmund, he approached the match as more like a battle.
“Everyone thinks we are strong favourites, but we don’t think about it that way,” Modric said.
He continued, “It’s 50-50, we are playing against a great team that had a great season in the Champions League.”
Nacho and Modric, in addition to German Toni Kroos and Dani Carvajal, are looking to win the title for the sixth time in their career, which will make them equal the record held by former Real star Paco Gento.
Source: Maan News Agency