Schuster Satisfied With Win
Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster was pleased with his side’s come from behind 2-3 win over Austrian side LASK Linz and singled out one player for special mention.
Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster was pleased with his side’s come from behind 2-3 win over Austrian side LASK Linz and singled out one player for special mention.
Reigning La Liga champions Real Madrid kicked off their pre-season program in Austria with a 2-3 triumph against an LASK Linz side who are celebrating their centenary year.
Despite going behind inside the opening 15 minutes through a Christoph Saurer goal, Madrid fought back to dominate the game and strikes from Arjen Robben, Raúl and Javier Saviola handed Los Merengues victory, although they endured a nervous finish to the game when Croatian Mario Mijatovic netted the second goal for the home sides in the dying minutes.
But Schuster was nevertheless satisfied with the work his players put in as he started off the post-match interview by congratulating LASK for reaching their 100-year milestone, before moving on to touch on the game itself.
"The match was nice after the long holiday break. It was important for us to get back to playing and to finish this match without any injuries,” he began. “And I have to thank LASK for how cleanly they played because teams can be a little too motivated for these games.”
Asked if he could draw any conclusions from the encounter, he simply replied: “I just wanted to see the team play with the same intensity they’ve been showing in training. I think we showed good pace, except for the last 15 minutes.”
He then singled out Dutch winger Arjen Robben for his fitness and his performance on the evening.
“He is anxious to prove how good he is, but we all know. He’s been working as hard as everyone else from day one. He is fresh and fast and he gives us a special spark to our game. He seems to be slightly ahead of the rest in these games,” Schuster commented.
He then revealed that Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro is recuperating well from his ankle injury and the merengue coach expects him to return to the pitch by the end of August.
Finally, Schuster touched briefly, or vaguely, on the transfer activities: “Everyone knows that we want to sign Ronaldo, but the process doesn’t seem to come to an end. The other signings that we make will depend a lot on it.”
Real Madrid will next take on Bundesliga side HSV Hamburg on the 2nd of August.