Real Madrid Can’t Afford To Relax – Zidane

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has called on his team to continue to work their hardest as they face into Wednesday’s Champions League quarterfinal first leg at Wolfsburg.

Madrid have been very inconsistent so far through 2015-16, but they were excellent in Saturday’s 2-1 comeback win in the Clasico at Barcelona’s Camp Nou.

The result left Madrid still seven points behind Barca with seven games to play in La Liga, but their chances of finishing a difficult season by winning the Champions League have been reconsidered by many pundits.

Los Blancos coach told his pregame news conference in Wolfsburg that from now on his team must not relax at all and ensure they retained their focus even against supposedly smaller opponents.

“Everyone is the favourite [at this stage],” Zidane said. “We know that from here each game is like a final. If you relax in football, you pay dearly. We are in a good moment and now we must be focused. That is what I am most concerned about.”

All of Madrid’s players, including superstar attackers Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, must work as hard as they did in the Clasico if they are to have success this season, Zidane said.

“The three are working well,” he said. “Of course you can always ask for more in defence, but they are doing their defensive role. Now, their principal mission is to attack. But in the most difficult games they are doing their work coming back. We must work together if we want to win trophies.”

Zidane also defended Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, who drew widespread criticism for receiving his 21st career red card at the Camp Nou on Saturday.

“Sergio is close to his great form,” Zidane said. “He has had many injuries and it is not easy when that happens but he is fine. On Saturday, a match like that always tests limits because it is a very demanding match. I am very happy with how he played. He is our captain and an important player.”

The emergence of holding midfielder Casemiro as a key player in the XI has meant less playing time for €80 million playmaker James Rodriguez and fan-favourite Isco, and Zidane said he sympathised with their situation.

“That is the difficult part of the coach’s job,” he said. “I would like to pick them too, they have quality and it is difficult not to play. I have been a player. But I must choose 11 from 22. But they will have protagonism with me. I am very interested in what they do because I know the type of players they are.”

Wolfsburg have been in poor domestic form recently, slipping to eighth in the Bundesliga after Friday’s 3-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen. But Dieter Hecking’s side have won all four Champions League games at home this season — including a 3-2 victory over Manchester United in the group stages.

“Tomorrow we will have a difficult game,” Zidane said. “They have had problems in their league, but that does not mean anything. They deserve to be here. We must play our own game and we will try and do well.”