Lokomotiv eyeing UEFA Cup spot
What better opportunity for FC Lokomotiv Moscow to show the Russian public what they are really capable of than a home game against Real Madrid CF. Last week's stunning 5-1 win away to RSC Anderlecht may have come too late to pull around their UEFA Champions League season but it has given Yuri Semin's side every chance of qualifying for the UEFA Cup. A draw against the Spanish champions would guarantee that.
What better opportunity for FC Lokomotiv Moscow to show the Russian public what they are really capable of than a home game against Real Madrid CF. Last week's stunning 5-1 win away to RSC Anderlecht may have come too late to pull around their UEFA Champions League season but it has given Yuri Semin's side every chance of qualifying for the UEFA Cup. A draw against the Spanish champions would guarantee that.
Madrid, whose position as winners of Group A is already assured, have left behind a host of leading players in readiness for next weekend's Primera División match with FC Barcelona. Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Raúl González, Fernando Hierro and Michel Salgado have all been rested while Roberto Carlos, Guti, Geremi, Aitor Karanka and Savio have been left behind because of injury.
Eight former youth team players have been called in to deputise, including left-back Raúl Bravo and central defender Francisco Pavon, who have both impressed during recent matches. "Although it is a long trip and there is nothing at stake in the group, the game is going to be a great experience for the young lads who deserve a chance to play in the first team," said midfielder Santiago Solari, who has spent much of this season on the sidelines following his move last season from local rivals Club Atlético de Madrid.
It does not, however, bode well for a change of luck for the former European champions in the Russian capital. This will be Madrid's seventh visit and they have yet to notch up a victory in Moscow. At least they will be met with temperatures in Moscow much warmer than their other opponents in Group A, AS Roma and Anderlecht, have had to contend with this season.
"Some of their leading players may not be out on the pitch but it will be a true Real," said Semin. "We will have our hands full even with the team they plan to send to Moscow."
Lokomotiv, on the other hand, have a full complement of players to choose from, other than the suspended Yugoslavian midfielder Milan Obradovic. They gave a masterclass in one-touch football in Brussels last week, which was out of keeping with their previous form in the competition, and they followed it up with a 3-1 away win against SC Rotor Volgograd at the weekend.
Madrid, meanwhile, were recording their first away win of the Spanish first division season, a 3-2 win against Villarreal CF in which they twice came from behind to lead. It coincided with Iván Helguera's first league appearance of the season after injury. Raúl scored his 129th league goal to overtake Francisco Gento, the all-time top scorer in Spanish football. Gento, who was a winger, played for Racing Santander and Madrid between 1952-1970.
"The great thing about the game again Villarreal is that we never gave up," said Solari, who supplied the cross for Raúl's winner. "If we can add that sort of determination and courage to our game we will be a very difficult team to beat."
This is the fifth time Madrid have finished top of a group in the UEFA Champions League and in so doing have equalled the record of the reigning champions FC Bayern München, who, however, could reclaim the outright record if they avoid defeat in Prague against AC Sparta Praha on Wednesday.