The Champions League .. "Conqueror of Real Madrid" thinks of a new achievement

The Colombian captain of the Moldavian Sheriff Tiraspol, Frank Castañeda, said that qualifying for the Champions League final price is "possible", after the submerged team's achievement by toppling the Spanish giant Real Madrid in its stronghold.

And after he started his first adventure ever in the continental competition by defeating Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine 2-0, Sheriff Tiraspol achieved the historic achievement on September 28 by toppling the record holder for the number of titles in the competition (13) in his stronghold "Santiago Bernabeu" by beating him 2-1.

The Moldavian team enters the third round of Group D competitions and is in the lead with six points, three behind Real Madrid and four from its opponent Tuesday, Italian champion Inter Milan.

In an interview with Agence France-Presse, captain Castañeda saw that "the victory at the Bernabeu is the best achievement of his career," adding, "Our opponent had many chances, but we won. Whatever the way, we won."

"As we left the stadium, on the bus, I told myself that what we had just achieved was enormous," the 27-year-old added.

It is certain that winning the stronghold of the best team in the history of the continental competition will remain in the minds of the Sheriff Tiraspol player, which was confirmed by his Colombian captain, who was crowned top scorer in the Moldavian League last season (28 goals), but he is still waiting for his first goal in the Champions League, saying, “We live "A dream and I'm trying to turn it into reality. Months from now, I'll realize what we've done."

The key to the success of Transnistria, the pro-Russian breakaway region in Moldova, is the “good understanding” between the players, says Castañeda, who defends the team’s colors in January 2020 after the first European experience in Slovakia, adding, “It has happened several times in the history of football: A small team, when it's made up of very united players and has a real team spirit in the dressing room, great things can happen. That's exactly what's happening with us."

'We are thirsty'

The next target of the Colombian and his companions in Sheriff Tiraspol is the stadium "San Siro" and Inter Milan, which includes in its ranks the Chilean star Alexis Sanchez, one of Castañeda's favorite players.

The Colombian stressed the need to "believe in ourselves, in our work, and continue with the same humility. We know that we are still honest, the small club in this great competition, but we are thirsty and want to show all our potential".

"This way, we will go to San Siro to show that we can win, that we can play great matches. It's football: anything can happen. You won yesterday, and tomorrow you can lose."

Castañeda arrived in Slovakia's Sinica in 2018, although he did not experience playing in the top flight during his domestic career with Orsomaru, who plays in the Colombian second division.

But now he started thinking even beyond the next goal, ie Inter, and even believes that his team can qualify for the final price, even though the goal is still far away after only two rounds of starting the group stage.

"We think it's possible. It's up to us, we have to play good games and try to collect as many points as possible. But we must not forget that we are playing against very big teams that can hurt us at any moment, and that's why we have to stay very focused." .

It is certain that reaching the final price will be at the expense of any of the two giants, Real Madrid and Inter, which will make the achievement double for the team that represents the capital of a separatist region with a population of 470,000 people that declared its separation from the rest of Moldova after a short civil war after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Since then, Transnistria has been protected by Russian soldiers, which is de facto independent, although not recognized by any country in the world.

Athletic, and in order to be able to join the European Football Association (UEFA), the city of Tiraspol, with a population of 100,000, competes in the Moldavian League.

A competition that Sheriff has won 19 times in the last 21 editions, making the hostility between Transnistria and Moldavia the same size as that between Sheriff and other Moldovan clubs as a result of his monopoly on the domestic league title.

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