Inilah bedanya Schuster ama Capello. Capello hampir ga pernah ngasih
penjelasan panjang lebar ke wartawan sementara Schuster hampir tiap
hari muncul di koran.

Yes..Milan emang bagus banget. Seperti dibilang Schuster, ibaratnya
mereka bisa main bagus biarpun tutup mata. Tapi tahun depan, Madrid
bakal nyamain mainnya Milan. Let's see...

===========================================================

Schuster: Pre-Season Was Wrong, But Now We're Strong

In a detailed interview with AS, Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster
reflected on the state of his squad, the club's pre-season
preparation, and the dual-front of the Liga and Champions League...

"I didn't like the arrangements for the preseason, but it was all set
up before I arrived, so I couldn't change it. I would have never
decided to play our first game after only four days' work. Ten days
after starting we faced Hannover, then Moscow, then Deportivo... I
also don't believe Real Madrid should play two days in a row in summer
competitions like the Teresa Herrera and the Carranza... This will
have to change."

"I would have liked things to have worked out more quickly, but we
were still waiting for players to arrive and some men on the squad had
offers made to them, which distracted them. Speculation gave way to
distraction. The arrival of the Dutch players cheered up the squad."

"I was worried and unsure at times during the preseason because we
lost many games, and that's not why I came here. It was good for us to
start the League with the derby after losing against Sevilla in the
Super Cup. This motivated some players who are very hard to motivate.
Everything's easier now," he said.

Then came the regular season - and Real Madrid came racing out of the
blocks with two wings from two so far.

Schuster confirmed, "I like to start strong. I don't like going just
little by little. It's good for players to have a great start to the
season because it makes them believe in what they're doing. A game
like that against Villarreal [5-0] helps us do our work and makes us
grow more ambitious, but we still have to improve."

"During half-time at El Madrigal we told ourselves we had to score a
second goal. We should never be satisfied with a result and sit back
to wait to see what happens next. Villarreal proved to be a very
offensive side, but we had a rather good start to the second half. We
did well in our counterattacks and the final result could have been
scandalous if we had been more effective."

"It's not enough to focus on playing a beautiful game. We practice on
positioning every day. We don't wait to receive the ball; we look for
it. Robinho, Sneijder, Raúl and Ruud are very good at this. The
players are adapting very easily to this style and having someone like
Sneijder on the pitch helps."

And it would not be possible without his squad.

"We can at last say we have the players that we need. Heinze has taken
some weight off our shoulders. He is a very driven player and a great
defender... Metzelder is also excellent. We have a balanced squad," he
said.

Singled out for particular praise was Raul.

Schuster said, "When I read in AS that Raúl said he wanted to play in
the 2008 Euro, I thought to myself, 'Luis Aragonés is going to have it
tough!' Before being Real Madrid's coach I said Raúl should maybe
change teams, but I only said this because something similar happened
to me as a player.

"Routine hurt me badly. It happened to me at Barcelona. People also
were affected by the routine of seeing me play for that team. They no
longer wanted me after eight years. I think Raúl should enjoy himself
now. What has he to lose? He can only gain from it. Our style is going
to favour him, as it favours Ruud and Robinho. Raúl should simply
focus on enjoying his football."

And there were words of encouragement for some other players...

"Guti is heavily influenced by the environment and players around him.
He goes with the flow. His sudden mood swings remind me of myself as a
player, but he is receptive... He knows how to listen.

"[Higuain played down the right wing in the preseason as a test, but I
think he is better as a striker. We have to improve on his
goal-scoring capabilities, which isn't easy. Nevertheless, I believe
he will help us as a striker and as a right winger," he added.

And then a moment of revelation about Jerzuy Dudek's impact against
Real Betis - a match Madrid lost 1-0 to a late set-piece.

Schuster said, "Dudek's specialty are penalties, that's why I brought
him out in the Carranza. I didn't even think about the possibility of
there being any free-kicks before the end of the game. Manolo Ruiz and
I decided to wait until the very last minute because something was
telling me that it could go wrong.

"In the end, we decided to bring him out and it was a bad move. We
could only laugh about. I told Manolo, 'Damn! Why didn't we wait
longer?'

"If we had gone through to the penalty round and Dudek had done well
there, people would now be saying that my move was a stroke of genius.
I would do it again nevertheless. Dudek proved to be brilliant in the
2006 Champions League final."

And then reflections on two new squad members:

"Drenthe did well as a left back against Villarreal, but things
improved when I brought out Heinze. Drenthe is Dutch, but he looks
Caribbean.

"His joyful character explains why he and Robinho understand each
other so well. They both create an excellent atmosphere in the
dressing room. I tell Van Nistelrooy that he has to be a father figure
for the Dutch players... He's helping them a lot."

"Robben is making great progress and this halt in the competition will
allow him to rejoin the squad next week. He is terribly excited about
playing. There is no problem with his old injury, but the mess that
his signing proved to be didn't allow him to prepare properly during
the preseason with Chelsea. He has to do muscle exercises," he added.

"We wanted Sneijder when we were planning the season on another team,
but we came here and his destination therefore changed. Before signing
him I talked to Leo Beenhakker, who knows him well. We found out he
can make good use of his shots if he plays down the left wing.
"Beckham was a right winger more than anything else, and Sneijder,
despite the fact that he has similar touch on ball to the Englishman,
can cover more ground. He was a bit nervous in his Bernabéu debut, but
he has performed at an optimum level ever since. The team is grateful
to him for that. It is easy for a team to adapt to a style with him on
the pitch."

He then looked ahead to the Champions League, and rivals both in this
competition and at home.

Schuster said, "We have good rivals in our group, but I believe we'll
go through to the next round. We know how tough German sides like
Werder Bremmen can be, but they no longer have Klose and Frings. Lazio
are a hard Italian side... Olympiakos have well-known players like
Galletti and Raúl Bravo"
"I want to win the European Cup because I came close to winning it as
a player in Seville against Steaua Bucharest. With Real Madrid I faced
Milan in the semifinals.

"In the League, I'm sure Sevilla will be among the candidates again.
So will Barcelona. I thought Valencia might as well, but it looks like
they have had some problems.

"In the Champions League, I have to go with Milan. They're the only
team capable of beating Sevilla right now, just as they did in the
Super Cup. They've spent the last two years together and it shows.
Milan don't get tired of winning titles. They're like a good team who
repeats one after the next. Liverpool don't play very pretty football,
but they're hard, difficult, and a nasty team to play. You just have
to look back to last season to see how much trouble Barcelona had.

"If Milan is a ten, Madrid is an eight right now. Sevilla is a nine.
They can play with their eyes closed, we can't yet. If I had to pick
qualities of the best teams in the world, I'd go with Manchester's
verticality and Chelsea's defence. I also love Sevilla's
aggressiveness."

Finally, he closed by saying that he'd like to commit his future to Real Madrid.

"I'd really like things to go the way they do in England, where you
can coach the same team for team years. I would sign on with Madrid
for a decade right this second, but it's impossible in countries like
Germany and Spain. We don't have the kind of foundation or development
here," he confirmed.

Kirim email ke