Club World Cup and Champions League Draw

The team has traveled to Abu Dhabi to prepare for their first Club World Cup match on Wednesday vs. Al Jazira.

Training

They had their first training session this evening at the New York University campus. (Video)

And they were joined at the training session by Blanco legends Raul & Michel Salgado!

Call Ups

The following players made the trip to Abu Dhabi:

Goalkeepers: Navas, Casilla and Moha.
Defenders: Carvajal, Vallejo, Ramos, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo, Theo and Achraf.
Midfielders: Kroos, Modric, Casemiro, M. Llorente, Asensio, Isco, Kovacic and Ceballos.
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, Bale, Lucas Vázquez and Mayoral.

Interviews

FROM REALMADRID.COM

Zidane: “It’ll not be easy but we’re hoping to return home with the trophy”

“There are no excuses, we have time to prepare for the matches and we must think about doing things right”, he added.

Zinedine Zidane spoke about the Club World Cup with Realmadrid.com and Realmadrid TV. The madridista coach talked about the challenge of being the first team in history to successfully defend this title: “Every time that we’ve fought for a trophy this season we’ve won, we won the European Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup. It’s an important competition and we’re missing a league match for this trophy. We’re hoping to be able to return home with the trophy”.

“It’ll not be easy. Last year we had a lot of difficulties with the Japanese side but we won in the end. We’re not going to have easy games and we’re not going to win because we’re Real Madrid. We’ve got time to prepare the matches and there’s no excuses. The fixture list is like this and we must look at doing things as well as possible. We have to prepare and go in to it full of enthusiasm in order to go home with the trophy”.

The season
“We can be very satisfied and happy with how the season is going but of course we can improve. Everyone wants to see Real Madrid playing well and always wining by four or five goals, it’s everyone’s dream, but in the end it’s not so easy. For those of us who’re working inside, I’ve been a player and now the coach, we know that what the players go through isn’t easy”.

“It’s normal that there are difficult moments during the season but what we have done so far is very positive and very interesting. We’ve won two titles and we’ll try to win the third one. Then we’ll have six months to fight for the league, the Champions League and the cup. It’ll not be easy and I say the same to everyone, but we’re there and we know we can achieve big things again this year”.

His work as coach
“I learn from situations, not only training, but also in the tactical and physical aspects. I like what I learn from the players and what they can learn from me. It’s expected that I’m different after two years training this team. It’s my job and I try to do it in the best possible way. What I want and what all of us in this club want is to try to win everything”.

Message to the fans
“I want to thank you because you are always supporting the team and that’s what we want all the time, even in difficult moments. With you we can achieve great things and hopefully this year it will happen again. Regards to all the madridistas”.

FROM REALMADRID.COM

Ramos: “We’re here to defend the title and fight to win our sixth Club World Cup”
by Javier Garcia (Abu Dhabi)

“We have an opportunity to win another trophy for our fans”, said the captain upon arrival in ​Abu Dhabi.

Real Madrid are already in Abu Dhabi where they will try to win the Club World Cup again. Upon arrival, Sergio Ramos gave his first impressions on the competition that the Whites are current champions of. The captain said: “We’ were really looking forward getting here. Being here is a prize, we have the opportunity to defend this title and win it again”.

“Now we have to adapt after the journey and fight to win our sixth Club World Cup. We’re going in it really enthusiastically and with a real desire to take part. It’s an opportunity to win another trophy for our fans. We’re really motivated after a great game against Sevilla and we’re on a good run at the moment. We must now look to maintain this balance and consistency”.

Meet & Greet

The team had a meet and greet for fans at the Four Seasons Hotel. (Video)

Champions League Draw

And we now know our next opponent in the Champions League: PSG!  First leg is February 14th at home with the second leg in Paris on March 6th. (Video)

Here are the other match ups:

Juventus-Tottenham
Basel-Manchester City
Porto-Liverpool
Sevilla-Manchester United
Shakhtar Donetsk-Roma
Chelsea-Barcelona
Bayern Munich-Besiktas

– Lozil