MADRID, 4 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal stressed that winning five of the last nine editions of the Champions League is not “luck” and lamented that the “justice-injustice debate” only occurs “when Real Madrid wins the Copa de Europe”, in addition to warning of the importance of this Wednesday’s match against Shakhtar Donetsk to settle at the top of their group.
“Opinions are subjective. I think that when you have won five of the last nine editions of the European Cup, luck is on the sidelines,” he declared at a press conference. “Football is about results, the one who scores the most goals and the one who concedes the fewest wins; we’ve been the best in that in recent years. It’s a bit complex to talk about what’s fair and what’s not. We had a great League and a ‘Champions’ with ups and downs, but in which at key moments we knew how to be there and take advantage of our moments,” he stressed.
In addition, he sent a message to those who talk about the fortune of the white team in the continental competition. “It makes me a little funny that this justice-injustice debate occurs when Real Madrid wins the European Cup, when other teams win it, meritocracy is fair,” he said. “Among the four or five teams in the pools is Real Madrid. We know how difficult it is to win this competition. I don’t think anyone who faces us sees us as an easy rival,” he explained.
“We come from a draw against Osasuna and tomorrow we have a very difficult match against a rival that is second in the group. It would be a very important step to settle in first place,” he said about the importance of the duel against the Ukrainians.
On the other hand, Carvajal does not believe that Karim Benzema is affected by not scoring the penalty against Osasuna that could have meant victory for Carlo Ancelotti’s men, and he regretted the criticism of the Frenchman. “You have two bad games and you go from heaven to hell. For better or for worse, you always have a game in the next few days,” he stressed.
“I don’t think Karim is much influenced by not scoring a penalty, he would go home unhappy, but he is above that, for us he is indispensable. He is the best in his position. Hopefully tomorrow he will score two or three goals and take off that mistake from the last game,” he added.
Regarding the dressing room, he explained that “a generational change is taking place. “It happens in all the clubs. In the future they will be veterans. We have harmony between players with more experience and young people with enthusiasm and work. That makes us have a very good and very competitive squad”, he pointed out.
“I feel very fortunate to have won five European Cups with this club. The key is to reset each season, to continue wanting to make history with this shirt. The values of this club teach you to always win, to fight in every game There is the secret, “he said. “Personally, I feel very good, I started the season with a lot of minutes. We have a World Cup in seven weeks and we want to arrive at the best time of the year,” he continued.
In another order of things, he recognized “the demands of the calendar in an anomalous year with the World Cup in between”, which means that they have “less hours to recover”. “Hopefully there will be no injuries, because the loads of minutes are going to be important,” he said.
“I don’t think many players are thinking about the World Cup. It’s a compressed schedule, everyone wants to be as high as possible. The last few weeks, the last ten days, the subconscious or the fear of missing out on the most special championship, the best of the world, can act,” he continued.
Lastly, he lamented the situation that Ukraine is going through and, in particular, Shakhtar Donetsk. “It is a pity that in 2022 we are in that situation, that a team cannot play in its own country. There has been an exodus of non-national players. Seeing Shakhtar compete and generating that illusion in the fans is something beautiful, that football can evade them from the situation they are experiencing,” he concluded.