Article
10 March 2010
Realmadrid.com
Iker Casillas called out to Madridistas to muster up their support for Wednesday's do-or-die showdown against Olympique Lyonnais.
"We need the Bernabeu crowd as much as we need to eat. Our fans are our best ally and need to stand behind us because we are going to fight our hardest. They should rest assured that we will respond, but we do need them. Against Sevilla we saw that they could answer the call and they sent a wave of optimism and excitement that reverberated throughout the stadium and players."
"We have the benefit of playing at home. The coach has said that if we don't go through it's because we don't deserve to. We respect Lyon, but being eliminated hasn't crossed our minds."
"The first leg score is a little deceiving. You can concede a goal on any strange play and that makes for an uphill battle. We need to play serious, organized football without any pressure. What I most fear about Lyon are their set-pieces, which caused us some grief in the first match. I am worried about silly fouls and losing focus defending corner kicks. We have to pay special attention to those plays because any lapse can result in a goal."
"I am confident we will go through and get this quarterfinal thorn out of our side. I'm counting on winning 2-0, which although a close game would give us a ticket into the next round."