All eyes on Robinho in Spanish league as he makes home debut in Madrid
Robinho has played 28 minutes for Real Madrid but has already been labelled "the saviour," "the magician" and "the new genius" by the Spanish media.
Robinho has played 28 minutes for Real Madrid but has already been labelled "the saviour," "the magician" and "the new genius" by the Spanish media.
Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium will be packed Saturday with expectant supporters hoping to see the 21-year-old Brazil forward make his home debut against newly promoted Celta Vigo.
Robinho made a scintillating debut as a substitute in Madrid's season-opening 2-1 victory over Cadiz on Aug. 28. He helped create the winning goal, dazzled with a range of impudent skills and raised Madrid's optimism it will gain its first silverware since 2003.
"Playing here is easier than I thought. I hope to keep up the standard of play at Cadiz for the whole league," Robinho said in an interview with sports daily As.
Coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo is making no promises about whether Robinho, who cost $30 million US from Santos, will start Madrid's second league match.
However, Robinho's chances have been boosted by doubts over whether Ronaldo will have recovered from a right thigh strain in time.
England defender Jonathan Woodgate could be on the bench for a Spanish league match for the first time. He made his debut last month in the final minutes of a friendly against a Major League Soccer all-star side, having been injured since arriving from Newcastle a year ago.
Teenage defender Sergio Ramos, who completed his 27-million-euro ($39.7 million Cdn) transfer from Sevilla on Thursday, is unlikely to feature.
Celta, which has returned to the top flight after a year's absence, began the season with a 2-0 victory over Malaga and coach Fernando Vazquez said he's hopeful of adding to the points tally.
"We have a lot to gain and little to lose," Vazquez said. "We're not anxious. The only result which would do us tremendous harm would be if we got thrashed."
FC Barcelona will aim for its first victory and goals of the season when it hosts Mallorca on Sunday.
The defending champion's 0-0 opening-day draw against promoted Alaves, combined with defeats in the second leg of the Spanish Supercup and two recent friendlies, has left Barcelona winless in four games.
"There's a little bit of worry. It's not good to start the league off with a draw so we'll have to really concentrate on Sunday," Barcelona right back Giovanni van Bronckhorst said.
Barcelona's 18-year-old forward Lionel Messi, who has already been compared with Diego Maradona, is likely to be omitted for the second successive match.
Barcelona believes the Argentina international should be eligible as he is "assimilated", a term for non-EU players who have been groomed in a Spanish club's youth teams. But Barcelona isn't prepared to take a chance on his status until the country's Higher Sports Council makes a ruling.
Athletic Bilbao, which leads the standings thanks to its 3-0 victory over Real Sociedad, pays a Sunday visit to Getafe, another of the eight teams which won their opening matches.