Arbeloa: “If any team can win in Munich, it's Real Madrid”

Álvaro Arbeloa spoke to the media in the press room at the Bernabéu after the first leg of the Champions quarterfinal against Bayern. Our coach said: “This is a defeat we perhaps could have avoided in the second half with a bit more luck. We faced a great team, and we knew it. We made two mistakes, two turnovers, which we had discussed before the match and during halftime that we needed to avoid, and above all, be better prepared to close down if they occurred. Against this type of team, if you make these mistakes, you pay for them. This is what we need to confront. It's clear that we scored a goal that gave us hope, and the pity was not converting one of the chances we had. It won't be easy, but if any team can win in Munich, it's Real Madrid.”

We have shown that we can hurt them and score goals. We had plenty of chances to score another goal. We will learn a lot from what happened and from how they played. We reached this stage practically without being able to prepare it on the pitch, which is not easy for a team like ours that isn't as polished as Bayern, who have been with their coach for a long time and know exactly what they want. With confidence in our players, we will go to Germany. Anyone who doesn't believe can stay in Madrid, because we are going all-in for the victory in Germany.”

What do you rely on for the second leg?
“For the second leg, I rely on my players. There were situations at 1-2 where the eagerness to equalize... you need to keep a cooler head because 1-3 would have been much harder, but I also admire my team's ambition not to want to lose, knowing you’re at home and continuing to attack. It's a shame we couldn’t take advantage of a few more chances. Of course, I have great confidence in going to Germany and winning.”

Tchouameni will not play the second leg
“We’ll have time to think about who plays. We have reliable options. Clearly, it’s an important absence due to a card, and I don’t know what the referee saw there nor do I understand why he didn’t show a red card for that tackle on Mbappé. Sometimes there are things you just can’t understand, but it’s what we have, and with that, we’ll go to Munich.”

What do you mean by asking for the ball more?
“We talked at halftime that when you recover the ball after being without it for a minute or two, in situations where you’re not fresh, you need to give options to the ball carrier. If you don’t, you lose it again and enter that cycle of constantly defending. It’s not easy, and I told the players because they press very aggressively, but we need to ensure that when we recover the ball, people offer themselves, move, ask for it, want it, hold onto it to draw a foul… and that we’re able to break them down, rest with the ball, be aggressive, and threaten them. We did better in the second half, and that was one of the keys to the improvement.”

Bellingham's match
“He’s a player who has been out for a long time. It’s not that I feel like leaving him on the bench. I’m not suspicious regarding him and the confidence I have. We’ve talked a lot about how his return to the team should be and about regaining his best level progressively. It’s logical, and I wish he could have played 90 minutes with Bellingham since I became coach. He has given us so much because we needed a player like him, one who can handle the aggressive pressure Bayern applies, drive forward, and evade opponents. I’m very happy with the energy he showed us, his character, and his personality. I see him much better, and I’m sure he will help us a lot in Munich.”

Bayern's two goals
“99% of goals are errors, and not just one, usually several. These are situations we talked about, and when you try to play the ball out from your own half, they press you, and you have to be careful because there could be turnovers. You need to be prepared to close in quickly and not have too many players ahead of the ball but rather behind it, because if not, what happened to us occurs: we lost the ball and didn’t have people to close down that loss. Often, it’s not the turnover itself because against this type of team, turnovers will happen, but how you react to the turnover and your positioning. When you’re very open and lose the ball in your build-up, as we did, they score goals.”

Mbappé
“I’ve seen a very committed Mbappé in all tasks, capable of creating imbalance, being the best player in the world, and a constant threat to Bayern's players. This is the Mbappé we want to see. A Mbappé who wants to be Mbappé every day.”

Can you evaluate Carreras' match?
“He faced one of the best players in the world, a winger having a spectacular season, and it’s not easy to go up against a player like that. My confidence in Álvaro remains intact. He’s a fantastic player with a promising future and a great present. He’ll learn from today’s matchup, and that’s the challenge for any full-back. Those of us who’ve been there know it. Defending players like this isn’t easy, and you always need help to stop them, especially when they play inverted, as they can go outside or inside. He’s a quick player with a lot of talent, so it’s never easy.”

The best news is that your team made the rival’s best player Neuer?
“It shows us that we can hurt Bayern a lot. It won’t be easy with their fans, but as I said before, if any team can win in Munich, it’s Real Madrid.”

How much focus will you put on the mental aspect for the second leg?
“Not the mental aspect but the footballing one. How to hurt them and how to defend against all the situations they posed in their attack. We’ll have days to prepare well, and that’s what we’ll focus on. Not the mental aspect. I have players with a lot of personality; the first thing they said was that we’re going to win there. They’re convinced, and so am I. We’ll give it our all; we’re Real Madrid; there’s no fear. We know the difficulty of the opponent, the context, and the stadium, but we’re going for it.”

 

Disclaimer: Translation generated by artificial intelligence. It may contain inaccuracies.