FOOTBALL
Prosinecki: "Real Madrid had to bring in players with motivation"
The former Real Madrid and Barcelona assessed his former side's league form and discussed Real Madrid's problems this season after success last year.
Croatian Robert Prosinecki, former Real Madrid and Barcelona player was recently appointed the manager of Bosnia and says that he continues to follow LaLiga very closely in an interview with Efe.
The 49-year-old arrived in the capital as a 22-year-old and played with Real Madrid for three seasons. "I played in Real Madrid for three years and I'm sure my matches were not brilliant," he confesses. "I couldn't play for a year and a half because of injury and I am sure that this had an influence to not play like I did before."
"To be someone who played for Real Madrid and Barcelona is something massive, a massive success in my life and a huge honour," he said.
"Barcelona look excellent. They are much better than they were last season. They play well, with a lot of conviction and in their style, with lots of possession of the ball, and with a rapid attack along with extraordinary individual talent," he says of Ernesto Valverde's side.
"They bought Coutinho now; Dembélé will adapt to the game and will be like he was a Dortmund. Barcelona have a really excellent side with those. Also, I have to say, they have taken advantage in the best way of Real Madrid's poor season," he continued.
Regarding Real Madrid's poor form this season, Prosinecki says, "I think, maybe, that after the brilliant season gone by they had to refresh their side, bring in players with motivation, wanting to prove their quality, win everything that Madrid won the year before."
"They have played together for a long time, won consecutive Champions Leagues, and I am sure there is certain saturation. They had many problems with injuries and also, they let players go, who are in my opinion extraordinary, like James Rodriguez, Alvaro Morata. That is felt especially when you have to change something on the field," he says.
"Both of them, as I see it, were important to the team. And if you add Bale who is almost always injured, and Cristiano not at the level that he was before, then it is easy for these problems to occur," he concluded.
