• Ramos. "This is where uncles are seen, children must be left aside."
  • Guardiola. Compliments to Madrid: "There is no one like them in the Champions League"

The only time Pep Guardiola , as coach, lost at the Bernabéu he did not have Messi on his team. It was with Bayern, in 2014, in that 1-0 that he opened a qualifying round in the lap with white win at the Allianz. Naked of genius, the Catalan coach has been looking for the glory of the Champions for years. This Wednesday will face a coach who is also tested in the great competition without the weapon that helped him most in his previous stage, when he won three European Cups of the pull.

With Cristiano Ronaldo in his ranks, the Frenchman never lost a tie, leaving the fiercest shields of the continent on the way. Rome, Bayern, Naples, PSG, Juventus, Atlético ... City itself knocked down in 2016 with a lonely goal from Gareth Bale , one of the options he has in his hand this time to rebuild the attack, after the unfortunate relapse of Eden Hazard

Because of the height of Zidane's commitment and background, almost everyone in Valdebebas assumed that the Welshman will form an offensive partner with Karim Benzema. The boss would forget once again the gray season of 11, between poor performance, constant absences due to physical problems and improper scoring numbers ( two goals to Villarreal in the League in September, and one to the Unionists ). Before that, the good star of the striker in the nights of etiquette and his aerial game. Isco, to form a drawing with five midfielders, or Vinicius would be other possible cards, but they may remain as alternatives for the second part.

The calendar places Madrid in a week of tremendous demand just when things have been twisted, after the undoubted growth that led from October. Hazard's injury is the saddest shot at a series of bad results that have made him lose the head of the League and fall eliminated in the Cup. With the spirit touched, the whites receive two of his historical ogres, Guardiola and Messi, one behind the other.

Both in good times and in bad times, this Wednesday's game will splash the classic Sunday. A good result against the City would be the best impulse to receive Barça on Sunday (9:00 p.m.), just as, in the opposite direction, a European stumble would influence. There is a return in Manchester and there would be three months of league left, but in the white dressing room the feeling of being in two finals has grown in the last hours. In fact, the round of 16 in the Champions League, after the tummy of a year ago with Ajax, is faced as a real challenge. Without Cristiano and, now without Hazard, they are convinced that if they manage to overcome the English, they will boost their confidence in the tournament they dominated not so long ago.

Flowers to Guardiola

Zidane intends that his people recover the solidity of the one that made flag in the last months. Rigor behind and mastery of the ball, with its reinforced spinal cord (Casemiro plus Valverde), waiting to take advantage of the chances, many or few, that they generate. Just what they did not do on Saturday against Levante. In his favor, that the atmosphere of Chamartín will be a big night and that Manchester City arrives with doubts, evicted in the Premier, and under the pressure of the punishment that UEFA has placed on the club, sanctioned for two seasons without Champions for their irregularities Financial

Zidane parked the rivalry to put Guardiola through the clouds. The coach of Madrid does not forget how well his colleague treated him a few years ago, when he was preparing for the benches. «I spent a few days with him when I was leading Bayern, talking about how to manage a team and he was very sincere, open and I learned many things talking to him. There were many talks and he was very sincere. It was very interesting, ”recalled the only coach in the history of the competition who has won it three times in a row. Such a record does not prevent him from looking with admiration at his rival. «Guardiola is the best coach in the world because he has always shown it. First in Barcelona, ​​then in Bayern, now in City. There are many coaches in football, but for me the best is him, ”he insisted.

Flowers before the duel more even and more morbid of this round. "We are not afraid to play against Guardiola," ZZ closes.

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Know more

  • Pep Guardiola
  • Eden Hazard
  • Cristiano Ronaldo
  • Gareth Bale
  • Isco Alarcón
  • Karim Benzema
  • sports
  • First division
  • Champions League
  • football
  • Real Madrid

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