Incontinental Cup Preview: Olimpia-Real Madrid
Real Madrid are back in Japan two years after lifting the Intercontinental Cup. This time, they'll face a fellow Centenarian club, Olimpia de Asuncion, which are seen by some sections of the World press as a mere bunch of "peones".
Real Madrid are back in Japan two years after lifting the Intercontinental Cup. This time, they'll face a fellow Centenarian club, Olimpia de Asuncion, which are seen by some sections of the World press as a mere bunch of "peones".
Yet it would be a major mistake to underestimate Honcho Pumpido's men. After all, the likes of Velez already played a trick to AC Milan, back in 1995, when they stunned the then European Champions in Tokyo. Even after suffering an unexpected defeat the Italians kept their superior stance and dismissed their South American opponents as a "third division team".
Apparently Real Madrid are not making the same mistake. Every single player who travelled to Japan is insisting "this one is going to be a difficult match". Yeah, right.
Last year's half-baked Centenario - which "only" saw the Champions League ending up on the Casa Blanca shelves - should give Real Madrid players enough conscience to avoid mistakes they made in the past. Another incentive is the premium Supremo Florentino Perez has promised his players: a cool 48000 euros in case of victory.
This trip to Japan comes only days after a European star wars with AC Milan. Del Bosque's men conceded a short 1-0 defeat and it was not seen as a good omen for the team's near term future. Real have trouble playing away from the Bernabeu and one may object: how further can you go than Yokohama?
With Real Sociedad flying away on top of the table and defending champions Valencia showing strength, too, the Merengues needed a break like this one to come back stronger. The question is: can the players sustain such a frequence of intercontinental journeys inside weeks like they currently do? Real officials tend to keep the issue under cover, but it is a fact the team is increasingly weary.
Fatigue is damaging Real's prospects, as well as morale: the players were told that they'll have to cut their Xmas holidays by a couple of days as the club faces Sevilla in the postponed match which should have taken place last weekend. Their only hope is to play it higher in the table and with another major trophy in the bank...
LATEST TEAM NEWS
This trip to the Intercontinental Cup represents Olimpia's third trip to the competition. The first time the team from Paraguay qualified for the competition, Olimpia defeated Sweden's Malmo in 1979, but this was mared because European champion Nottingham Forest coach Brian Clough didn't want to travel to Ascunsion. Olimpia's second trip to the Intercontinental Cup, the El Decano (as Olimpia is refered as by their followers) lost to Milan 3-0 in 1989. When asked if his club stands a chance against Real, Head Honcho Nery Pumpido belives that Spanish power Real Madrid is soft at the moment. Pumpido said in the media recently that, "if Racing Santander could win against Real Madrid why cannot we win against Real?" Well at the moment the El Decano hasn't performed that great either. Olimpia just finished third in the recent Paraguayan Clausura campaign, but didn't didn't qualify for the Paraguayan Club Championship. Also key figure in the Copa Libertadores vicotry, Richart Baez hasn?t been eligible for Paraguayan domestic competition since that triumph, so Pumpido will have to rely on Hernan Rodrigo Lopez to partner up with Miguel Angel Benítez.
Real Madrid: Moustached boss Vicente Del Bosque is delighted to have a full-strength squad to choose from when he draws up his XI. Minor injuries and the flu have been in his way for days, but now it looks as though as even Francisco Pavon and Claude Makelele are available again. Pundits therefore believe the Merengues do not have any excuse, should their constellation of stars be unable to see off Olimpia. In Diario As' words, the Galactic XI should therefore be: Casillas; Míchel, Hierro, Helguera, Roberto Carlos; Makelele, Cambiasso; Figo, Raúl, Zidane & Ronaldo. Del Bosque will have one last training session on Monday night, Tokyo time, to settle the last remaining problems.
WHO IS HOT
Olimpia:
Sergio Orteman is a tough cookie to break. The Uruguayan has the foot skills to slip past defenders and has the muscle to help prevent counterattacks, should Real get any real pressure. Olimpia will depend on this guy to perform all duties and he will have to if Olimpia stands any chance of winning this match.
Real Madrid:
With Ronaldo having a see-saw debut to his Real Madrid career and Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo still looking for top form, Raul is the only star to shine brightly in the Madrid sky. The birth of his second child has given him a massive boost after staying away from Spain's last match due to injury.