Monaco's Morientes worrying return to Real

Monaco's Fernando Morientes hardly got a hero's welcome on his return to the Spanish capital.

The former Real Madrid player was greeted at Madrid's Barajas airport by one TV crew, two girls who had invested in a Monaco number nine shirt hoping that he would sign it, and a few onlookers coming off other planes.

It was a stark contrast to the reception he usually got during his six years at the club.

Even coming back from domestic league fixtures there were usually dozens of fans waiting to greet him.

"I have a strange feeling coming back here," the Spanish international striker said later on Tuesday ahead of Monaco's Champions League quarter-final first leg with the nine-time European champions on Wednesday.

"But I always knew that there was a chance that at some time in the season I would have to."

"After six years being in the Real Madrid dressing room, the emotions I have at the moment are totally different to those that I have had before any other game," added Morientes, who lifted three Champions League titles while wearing a white shirt and is a close friend of Real striker Raul.

Many pundits would have said that Monaco had arrived at the right time, with Real in a mini-slump after two consecutive losses for the first time this season, but Morientes begged to differ.

"In fact, it is the worst possible moment to play Real because I know that those two defeats could provoke a backlash. I know this club and I know what the Champions League means to them."

"I think we should be more worried than normal," reflected Morientes, who has been a huge success for Didier Deschamps' Monaco side since arriving on loan from the Spanish giants following a horrific injury to Congolese striker Shabani Nonda at the start of the season.

However, worry was not a word in the vocabulary of Deschamps when he addressed a press conference later on Tuesday.

"I am not even contemplating the possibility of defeat," said the former French captain, who is likely nonetheless to shake the hand of Zinedine Zidane, his former international team-mate, before the match.

Dechamps' confidence was boosted by the fact that midfielder Lucas Bernardi and defender Sebastien Squillaci, who are both suffering from minor niggles, should be ready to play.

"We all know that if Real Madrid are 100 per cent then life is going to be difficult, but we are going to play to our strengths and everyone knows that in football anything can happen," said Deschamps.

"There are just 11 human beings out there, with all their weaknesses and all their problems. In contrast to the other team sports, where the biggest and the best always win, in football the reverse often happens."

"The smallest side can win. There is always the opportunity for the smallest to thrive."