After a magnificent victory against Manchester City in the semifinal of the UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid will be heading into El Clasico with a lot of confidence. Despite the fact that the game was not very eye-catching, Real Madrid emerged victorious in every respect.
After suffering a humiliating loss to Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona will be entering the game. Real Madrid gains the upper hand.
MARCA conducted an interview with Mesut Özil, a legendary player for Real Madrid, as part of the ongoing preparations for El Clasico, which is now achieving widespread attention in the Spanish media.
Given that he was a player who had a prominent role in a number of climactic matches and had etched his name into the annals of Real Madrid’s history, he was an ideal choice to provide his opinion on the impending matchup.
During the chat, the former Real Madrid player said that he continued to closely watch the team’s games on a daily basis. Subsequently, he proceeded to engage in a profound discussion on Los Blancos’ current season, their current form, and the impending Clasico.
“Something that is in the middle. “I am still watching the games, particularly those of Real Madrid, Arsenal, and Fenerbahce,” he said in response to the question of whether or not he continued to watch the games of the Galacticos.
He kept his promise and stated that he had watched the team’s most recent match against Manchester City, which resulted in them advancing to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League.
“You are correct, it was an incredible duel. The reasons why no one wants to compete against City were shown. They were able to control the game for the most of the time, but not completely.
“As usual, Real Madrid displayed a high level of wisdom. They did an excellent job defense. As of right moment, I believe that Real Madrid is the most popular choice. I am certain that they will be able to win the Champions League,” he said.
After that, the legendary German player reflected on the El Clasico and shared his thoughts on the memories he associated with his time spent playing for Barcelona.
At the time, it was the most significant match that had ever taken place in the history of soccer. Barca was maybe the finest Barca in the history of the club, which is unfortunate for us. It is safe to say that Pep’s Barcelona was on a completely different level from the Barcelona that exists now.
According to my opinion, the attention that is now being paid all over the globe is mostly concentrated on matches such as Liverpool vs Manchester City or other Premier League duels. Regarding the well-known tie, he said, “I believe that El Clasico has been defeated, and it is a waste of time.”
Given that Real Madrid is without a doubt one of the top teams in the world, this is not something that can be blamed on the club. The issue is Barcelona, which has failed to live up to its promise,” he explained.
Continuing with the subject of El Clasico, it was unavoidable that Özil would not be questioned on his remarkable long-range drive against Barcelona, which resulted in a missed goal in the Copa del Rey.
If you do a search on Google for “the best of Özil,” you will, without fail, eventually come across that particular photograph [laughs]. Whenever I faced Barca, I was always driven to give it my all. I can very vividly recall how the media went absolutely crazy about those games at that time. The situation was not the same.”
His response to the question of whether or not the rivalry between Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho was among the most scary rivalries in the history of the sport was as follows:
My answer would be yes. Even now, a great number of football fans long for that era, which was the game’s zenith.
In the subsequent statement, Özil said that Real Madrid is the undeniable favorite for the next weekend’s Clasico, and he provided adequate evidence to support his assertion.
“Barcelona is having a hard time, that is for sure. In spite of the fact that they have talented players in every position, they have suffered an excessive number of injuries this season. Perhaps they need to pay a bit more attention to themselves and the errors they make, rather than always complaining about the refs.
“This is not going to help. The season is going very well for Madrid. After Karim left the club, I was surprised to see that they were doing so well, but they are doing really well,” he remarked of Real Madrid.
After that, he went on to say that if Los Blancos were to emerge victorious on that particular evening, the league championship would be essentially a given for them.
“I believe that ” In a row, Madrid does not suffer a loss of two games. They have a great deal of strength.
During his remarks on the Nuevo Santiago Bernabeu, the club veteran said that he had the intention of paying a visit to the stadium in the not too distant future.
In the future, I would want to go to the new Bernabéu, and it is certainly something that I would like to do. I had a fleeting moment of optimism that I might be able to attend the game on Sunday, but in the end, life intervened. However, it is not surprising that he wants to return to the Bernabéu.
After that, the German icon started talking about the several players that have been very important to Real Madrid during the season, starting with Jude Bellingham, stating,
“His first half of the season was fantastic, and there was no one who could find the words to describe it. During the last two weeks, he seemed to be a bit exhausted.
There is a possibility that he will be considered for the Ballon d’Or if he is successful in winning the Champions League, the European Championship, and La Liga. In addition, he said, “He is still very young, and he is incredible.”
The next question that was asked of him was which other Galactico had impressed him this season, and he responded by naming the German wall that the team had on defense.
This is Antonio Rudiger. He is having a season that is just outstanding. Is there any defender who has had a more successful season in Europe than he has? Additionally, it was the deciding factor in the matches that were played versus Manchester City.
“During the previous season, he did not participate in the second leg, and they ended up losing by a score of 0-4. During the match that took place at Etihad Stadium this week, Haaland was always on the lookout for Nacho in order to avoid engaging in a battle with Toni. He continued by saying, “His mentality is incredible.”
When Özil moved to Arda Guler, a player he had a strong personal connection with due to his time spent in Turkey, he had faith in the young player’s ability to do well at Real Madrid.
The man is quite familiar to me. During the time when we both played for Fenerbahce, he was almost my younger brother. The fact that his brilliance is well known by everyone is the reason why I do not want to praise him excessively and put further pressure on him.
“It is not very easy to manage his situation, especially when all the hope of a country as fascinating for soccer as Turkey is placed on him,” he continued of the protégé. “His situation is not very easy to manage.”
After that, he claimed that Guler’s stint at Real Madrid would eventually occur, and that it was just a matter of time until it happened.
“Be patient with yourself. I have no doubt that his time will come. He has not yet reached his years. Every every exercise has the potential to teach him a great deal. Additionally, it is surrounded by players of the highest caliber. Have patience.
Last but not least, he was questioned if Guler has the necessary qualities to write a period in Madrid, and he responded by saying,
It is true. But there is still time, even if it is not this season or the next. In the event that it does not prove successful, you might still consider situations such as Ödegaard’s, who managed to find his path.
“Everyone criticized him when he didn’t play as a young man, but a few years later he has become the leader of another great European club such as Arsenal,” he continued. “He has now become the current manager of Arsenal.”