REAL MADRID
Nacho: "At the start of the season, nobody remembered Ronaldo's name"
The players are with Lopetegui until the death says Nacho, who says every loss at Real Madrid turns into a crisis and four feels like the end of the world.
Nacho Fernández backed Julen Lopetegui during an interview with EFE and says they are with the manager "until the death" after a run of four games without a goal and with results creating a crisis in the capital. The Real Madrid manager has the support of the players and Nacho says the international break is a good chance for them to clear their heads.
The defender pointed to Real Madrid's lack of defensive stability and the fresh offensive approach as the main reasons for their poor start to the season. He did ask that Ronaldo's name be forgotten, however, for fear that Real Madrid would constantly refer to the past as they forge ahead this season.
Nobody remembered Ronaldo's name at the start of the season
"At the start of the season, we scored lots of goals," he said. "And nobody remember Cristiano Ronaldo, who started at Juventus without scoring a goal and they said that after leaving Real Madrid, he stopped scoring. In football, everything is changing."
"Cristiano was a very important player for us," he said. "In the end, he scored 50 goals a season, but we're not the ones to blame and we can't cry over what happened in the past. We have to move forward with what we have, that is with a very good squad and we are prepared for everything."
Regarding Lopetegui's future, Nacho is not ambivalent. "In the situation we are in, we are two points off the top and in every competition. In the world of football, and more in Real Madrid, everything that happens is multiplied by a thousand. When you draw or lose a game at Real Madrid, there seems to be a crisis. When there are four games, it seems everything is over."
"The players are with the manager until the death," he said of his coach. "We are calm. We have lived situations like this or worse and we have always had the ability to move forward. I can't assure you that at the end of the season we will win titles, but Madrid have always shown that the manager that is there and the players that are there, they will always fight for everything. We will be there until the end."
