Van Nistelrooy: This Is A Different Atlético

Real Madrid hotshot Ruud van Nistelrooy believes that the Atlético Madrid they will face this Saturday in the derby will be very different to the team from previous meetings.

El Derbi Madrileño has generated more hype and excitement this season than in recent past campaigns and that undoubtedly has a lot to do with Atlético finally managing to assemble a world class squad to challenge their big brothers.

Los Blancos striker Ruud van Nistelrooy believes that this particular Atleti outfit will be a very much improved side compared to the team they faced at the Calderón in the 07/08 term earlier this year.

“Firstly, they will enter the game against us still reeling from the defeat to Barcelona and their players as well as their fans will be very fired up,” he said in an interview with Radio Marca.

“But they are also a much stronger team this season compared to the previous years."

“Ujfalusi and Heitinga for example, have strengthened their defence and the team have at least one or two quality players for each position,” Ruud continued, before going on to praise his counterparts, Diego Forlán and Sergio Agüero, describing the Argentine as “a tremendous player”.

“I believe that the game this year will be much more complicated but if we stick to our game, I think we’ll be able to get a positive result,” he affirmed.

Finally, the Dutchman had his say about the controversy surrounding Atlético’s stadium ban in the Champions League.

“I think UEFA’s decision is out of proportion because the home fans did not do anything wrong. It was the fault of the Marseille supporters,” he concluded.