Butragueño: "Ramos has shown why he is our captain"
The Director of Institutional Relations gave his reaction to today's Champions League draw: "Napoli are dangerous. We'll need a good result in the first leg".
Cristiano Ronaldo Ballon d'Or 2016
Draw reaction
Emilio Butragueño gave his initial thoughts on this afternoon's Champions League draw which pitted Real Madrid against Napoli in the first knockout round, with the first leg to be played at the Santiago Bernabéu at the return in San Paolo. Madrid's Director of Institutional Relations described the Last 16 of the competition as: "always difficult; we're playing the first leg at home so we will need to get a good result there. We know the atmosphere and the excitement which is generated at their stadium".
Previous meeting
Butragueño recalled the1987 tie at the same stage when Madrid took a 2-0 result to Italy where he found the net in the return leg which ended 1-1. "The atmosphere that night was fabulous for them and difficult for us. We gained a two-goal advantage at the Bernabéu, but had a bad start over there (Giovanni Francini scored after just 10 minutes), but we were lucky enough to score just before half-time and make the next round".
Dangerous rival
As for Napoli, Butragueño added: "They have a very good coach, they have grown a lot in recent years and that's why we will need to put in a solid performance to gain a good result. We are up against an Italian side - one which is used to pressure, slim scorelines and I am sure that Napoli is going to be a very dangerous opponent. One small slip-up could be decisive - we'll need to be fully focused".
Great captain, great leader
Butragueño also had a few words to say about Sergio Ramos, who got Madrid off the hook once again at the weekend: "In football, you don't get where you are simply by chance - no one is going to gift you that - in Sergio's case, it's the result of his talent, dedication, professionalism, and he also is blessed with innate attributes and a mentality which has permitted him to remain at the top level for several years. He is our captain and he applies himself as the captain. Some players might take the armband because they have spent a long time at a club but lack personality, that certainly isn't the case with Sergio - he is quite simply a leader and he has shown that since the moment he arrived from Sevilla".
