Real Madrid: Santiago Solari looking forward to his first Champions League match as manager
By Ben Sundock
Real Madrid interim manager Santiago Solari will coach his third match since Julen Lopetegui was fired a few weeks back. It will be the third different competition he has coached Los Blancos in since taking over. Here is what he said during his presser Tuesday night.
Solari and his team have been to North Africa, at home in La Liga, and are now set to take on Viktoria Plzen in the Czech Republic on Wednesday night. It will be Solari’s first Champions League match leading this team and he has shown his excitement in the lead-up to this contest.
"“This competition is always really special,” Solari said. “It’s one that’s closely linked to the history of this club. The two are inseparable. When the Champions League anthem sounds, we all get excited. It’s fantastic to be back and involved in this competition. I’m really pleased to get the chance to be involved as a coach, I really enjoyed playing in the competition as a player.”"
Solari is 2-0 since taking over and Real Madrid is yet to concede since the former player took control. Just two weeks back, with a different manager, Los Blancos struggled against Plzen as they won 2-1 in the Santiago Bernabéu.
The focus remains on improvement and getting back to the standard of play Madridistas have seen in the last four or five years. Solari acknowledged that while he is happy with his first two matches in charge, there are still improvements that need to be made.
"“We’ve done a lot of good things in our last two games, we’ve got to focus on them and improve in the areas in which we haven’t done so well.”"
Real will need to be on top of their game as the Doosan Arena has proven to be a more difficult place to play than many expect. Plzen is coming off of a 1-0 win over Banik Ostrava in the Czech league and has won two of their last three since falling to Los Blancos.
Solari, when asked about the fans attitude towards defender Sergio Ramos during the win over Rayo Vallecano, was very blunt and stood up for the man who has become a staple of this club.
Despite scoring a late penalty in the win, Ramos was booed by the fans and whistled at because of his recent run of poor form.
"“He has broad enough shoulders to cope with the responsibility of being Real Madrid captain, which is a big one. He has been and continues to be a fantastic captain. I think that he makes a marvelous job of a task that’s from easy.”"
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This is yet another crucial match for Real Madrid who sits at the top of Group G, but is tied on points with AS Roma. Both clubs have six points, but because of Real’s 3-0 victory over the Italians, they hold the tiebreaker.