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Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas has said he was proud to finally wear the Los Blancos jersey again and complete his first official match in nine months.

The 32-year-old shot stopper was dropped by Jose Mourinho mid way through the last campaign, and Carlo Ancelotti has opted to stick with Diego Lopez in goal fro La Liga matches. He has stated Casillas will be used for the Champions League and Copa del Rey games.

Casillas started the first match in the Champions League two weeks ago but was replaced after only 15 minutes after sustaining a rib injury in a collision with Sergio Ramos. But the World Cup winner played the whole match in the 4-0 over FC Copenhagen at the Santiago Bernabeu, and was given a hero’s welcome on his return.

Speaking after the game, Casillas spoke of his personal delight, but also added he was happy to see the team get back to winning form following criticism in recent days after the loss to Atletico de Madrid.

“It was a long time without playing in the Bernabeu in an official match and getting back to wearing this shirt makes me feel proud. It has been a very long time and a lot has happened in that time but I have not tried to hide anything,” he said.

He added: “The team should be congratulated because we managed to win, which was not easy. The club has treated me very well and Real Madrid are more important than Casillas. The players try to make it better. We have to focus on the present, we have a team with great quality.”

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Real Madrid blog

Anyone who has read the Spanish sports newspapers this week would think Real Madrid is suffering a catastrophic crisis, worst than that of Atletico Madrid when they got relegated a few years ago. Yet, Los Blancos have only lost one match and drawn one other since the start of the season. The rest have been all victories.

However, after losing 0-1 to Atletico in La Liga, the Spanish press and most Real Madrid fans agree that Carlo Ancelotti’s side is experiencing the first crisis of the year. And surely they are right to claim that Los Merengues are not displaying the beautiful game promised by the Italian at his arrival. But, to be fair, have they given him enough time to make an appropriate judgement?

Real Madrid have only played nine official games under Ancelotti’s reign. The team is still adapting to a new system (the Italian plays a 4-4-2 instead of Jose Mourinho’s 4-2-3-1), a new style and a number of new concepts, such as playing Ronaldo as a proper striker rather than as a winger.

Yes, some players have shown a worrying lack of attitude, but others, such as Ramos, are suffering the tiredness from a busy summer –remember Spain reached the final of the Confederations Cup in Brazil. Real has also been missing key pieces such as Varane, Marcelo and Xabi Alonso due to injuries. And even Gareth Bale has arrived in poor physical condition.

Despite having thrashed Copenhagen 4-0 in the Champions League, it won’t be easy for Ancelotti to make everything work. He needs to find a suitable role in the team for Bale –claimed by many, and not without reason, as an unnecessary signing. He also lacks a centre-midfield pair that works perfectly together –the return of Xabi Alonso could solve that. And, more importantly, he will have to deal with the never-ending controversy that will cause leaving Iker Casillas on the bench.

Establishing a new style and building up a team while facing all those problems isn’t something that can be done in a couple of months. Remember Frank Rijkaard’s first season at Barcelona, as an example. The arrival of Ronaldinho didn’t have any impact at the start, and at Christmas Barca were 12th in the league, without any real hope of winning the title.

Still, after January they turned into an unbeatable team that was close to making one of the greatest come-backs in the history and almost steal the championship from Valencia. They finished second that year, and after that they went on to win two consecutive leagues, two Spanish Supercopas and the Champions League.

So let’s give Ancelotti some time as well. Wait at least another couple of months before making any hasty judgements.

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Real Madrid defender Pepe has hailed his side’s fighting spirit in their 4-0 win over FC Copenhagen in the Champions League.

Ahead of the game, critics had said Carlo Ancelotti’s men were facing their first major crisis of the season having been beaten at home last weekend by Atletico de Madrid. But two goals each from Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel di Maria gave Los Blanco a comfortable win and ensured the team has maximum points from the first two fixtures.

Los Blancos are looking firm favourites to take top spot in the group after Italian champions Juventus drew 2-2 with Galatasaray, leaving them four points behind in second place.

Pepe, who was involved in an argument with Karim Benzema at the weekend, said the team fought for each other in the win over the Danes, and need to maintain that spirit if they are to be successful this season.

He stated: “The key was the desire we put into the match. The whole team has worked hard to win the game, and that makes the job easier. Copenhagen won a point against Juventus and they are a strong team.”

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Premier League side Manchester City are believed to be keeping tabs on Sergio Ramos, according to reports in the UK press.

The Sun newspaper claimed Manuel Pellegrini’s side was the World Cup winning defender to bolster the defence at the Etihad Stadium, and are monitoring the defender’s situation at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The 27-year-old arrived in the Spanish capital in 2005 and has played an integral part in the club’s success in recent years. He has won La Liga three times as well as the Copa del Rey, and become a crucial member of the Spain team that has lifted the World Cup and two successive European Championships.

Ramos has a year to go on his current deal, and Real are keen to keep hold of him. But the club’s directors have stalled on agreeing a new contract after Ramos asked for a significant pay rise.

The tabloid claimed that as well as Manchester City, French champions Paris Saint Germain are also monitoring the situation in case Ramos becomes available for sale. The defender has made 261 appearance for Real Madrid and is one of the captains of the team alongside the likes of Pepe and Iker Casillas.

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People might start thinking that Marca and As are the same newspaper with a different logo. For the millionth time, the two main Spanish newspapers have picked the same picture for their front page and also the same focus, as they overemphasize Iker Casillas’ role in the 4-0 victory over Copenhagen.

Angel di Maria and Cristiano Ronaldo were the leaders in the easy win against the Danish side in the second match of the Champions League. Casillas only appeared in stoppage time with three good saves, but had already made a big mistake in the first half that could have cost Los Blancos a draw.

However, as populist as they are, Madrid newspapers couldn’t resist including the goalkeeper in their headlines. Marca titles “Two angels and one saint”, in a reference to Di Maria and Ronaldo -the Argentinian’s first name is Angel- and Casillas, who is known by Spanish press as “The Saint”. As headline is “Four goals… and Casillas for desert”.

“CR7 and Di Maria trash the Danish with four beautiful goals. Iker made the crowd stand with three brilliant saves in the last minute”, Marca reports.

As points out that the draw between Juventus and Galatasaray leaves Los Blancos ahead in the group with a four-point difference.

The second most sold Spanish sports newspaper also highlights Casillas words after the game: “Eight months without playing is a long time, but I want to end my career at Real Madrid”.

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Real Madrid gained confidence after their painful loss to Atletico Madrid in La Liga, by emphatically beating Copenhagen 4-0. A brilliant Angel di Maria led Los Blancos to secure the first spot in the Group B of the Champions League, scoring two goals and providing one assist.

Copenhagen seemed to have learned the lesson from Atletico Madrid, as they kept their midfield and defence lines tightly close since the beginning, making it difficult for Los Merengues to bring the ball to Karim Benzema and Ronaldo.

However, unlike in the derby, this time the Portuguese and the Frenchman stepped back more frequently, trying to get into play and help creating free spaces for their team mates. That left free way for Marcelo and Daniel Carvajal to join the attacks.

The switch of full-backs was the main difference from Atletico’s game, as both the Brazilian and the Spanish youngster clearly gave more offensive options than Fabio Coentrao and Alvaro Arbeloa.

Thus, Real’s main threat came from the wings. Benzema should have scored the first after only six minutes when he received a cross from Marcelo, but his header went out for a few centimetres.

In the 21st minute, another perfect cross from Marcelo allowed Ronaldo to put Madrid in front. The ball cleared the defence and the goalkeeper, who couldn’t reach the ball, and the Portuguese easily found the back of the net with a nice header.

Benzema was very active and received the applause of Bernabeu fans for his constant effort. In the 24th minute he made a brilliant play inside the box and assisted Di Maria, who shot a powerful strike wide of the right-hand post.

The Danish brought only brought some trouble to Iker Casillas in counterattacks and high balls. They had a great chance to draw in a corner. The goalkeeper failed in his attempt to clear the ball allowing Jorgensen to send a header to goal, but Modric blasted the ball away from the line.

After the half-time, Di Maria opened his box of tricks to seal the victory. The Argentinian reached the byline and delivered a sublime cross with a bit of skill. Ronaldo was there to bullet a header home.

A few minutes later, Di Maria settled it for Real. He picked up the ball on the right wing, drifted inside and sent a strong strike into the left corner. When the game was about to end, the Argentinian made another brilliant play and shot to the bottom right corner to make it 4-0.

Copenhagen had three consecutive chances to score a consolation goal in stoppage time, but Casillas denied all shots with three world-class saves.

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Real Madrid - Copenhagen match preview

Real Madrid will look to please the Santiago Bernabeu crowd with a convincing win over Copenhagen as they pass through the first crisis of Carlo Ancelotti’s reign. Los Blancos aim to secure a firm grasp on first spot in Champions League Group B after having defeated Galatasaray on matchday one.

This is the first time both teams meet in an official match. Their only confrontation was a friendly match at Malaga that Los Merengues won 2-0 in 1995.

The Danish team will try to get their first victory against a Spanish club in eight attempts. They certainly will be buoyed by their unexpected 1-1 draw against Juventus in the competition’s first matchday.

However, the motivation of Carlo Ancelotti’s side couldn’t be stronger, as Atletico Madrid hurt their pride at the derby with a 0-1 win. Real’s captains have called their team mates to show more spirit of sacrifice in order to get back on the right path.

The derby disaster also left Gareth Bale injured. The Welshman suffered a relapse on his muscle fatigue injury and he hasn’t made it in the squad. On the other hand Ancelotti can call upon Marcelo, and Raphael Varane could return to the starting eleven after five months out through injury. Los Blancos will miss Xabi Alonso due to injury.

Iker Casillas will surely return to the line-up after recovering from his rib injury. Meanwhile Alvaro Morata could replace Karim Benzema up front thanks to his good performance against Atletico.

Copenhagen are suffering a terrible start to their league campaign with just two victories in the first ten matches, and find themselves in the relegation zone. Taking points from the Bernabeu would certainly boost their self-confidence.

The Danish side have no relevant injury concerns and could name the same starting eleven that picked up the draw against Juventus. Ariel Jacobs main doubt is whether to include Thomas Kristensen in the line-up or not.

Possible line-ups:

Real Madrid: Casillas; Arbeloa, Varane, Ramos, Coentrao; Modric, Khedira; Di Maria, Isco, Ronaldo; Morata.

Copenhagen: Wiland; Jacobsen, Mellberg, Bengtsson, Sigurdsson; Bolanos, Claudemir, Delaney; Braaten, Adi, Jorgensen.

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Real Madrid face Copenhagen in the second matchday of the UEFA Champions League. History reveals that this will be the first official match between these two clubs. However, they did meet once on a football pitch on a friendly game.

It was on June 8th 1995, in a clash that didn’t take place either in Copenhagen or in Madrid. They played at La Rosaleda –Malaga’s stadium-, a place where Los Blancos had already played a friendly that year: a 2-0 victory over Celtic Glasgow on February 28th.

Los Merengues, managed at that time by Jorge Valdano, arrived as the new La Liga champions, having won the league with two games to spare. That fact meant Valdano opted to rest most of the usual starting eleven and instead give the reserves and youth players a chance.

Raul Gonzalez was among Castilla’s promising youngsters who took part in the match, after having made his first team debut that season. The starting line-up was the following: Canizares; Chendo, Marcos, Sanchis, Nando; Gomez, Redondo, Milla, Moran; Alvaro, Raul.

However, none of them was able to find the back of the Copenhagen net. Alfonso and Rivera, who came on after half-time, scored the two goals that gave Real Madrid a 2-0 victory over the recent Danish Cup winners.

As well as winning the only match ever played between the two, Real Madrid will also have the odds stacked in their favour against Copenhagen, as they have never lost to a Danish team in the Champions League.

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Gareth Bale’s frustrating start to life at Real Madrid continues after it was confirmed he will miss tonight’s match against FC Copenhagen with a recurrence of a thigh injury.

The forward missed the match with Getafe after pulling up with the injury in the warm up. He recovered to make his home debut at the weekend but Los Blancos lost 1-0 to Atletico de Madrid – their first La Liga loss to their city rivals since 1999.

The defeat left Real five points off their rivals in the league as both Atletico and Barcelona have made 100% starts, winning their first seven matches. Ancelotti told the press ahead of the match with Copenhagen that he expects his team to respond, but will have to do so without the presence of the 91 million euro summer signing Bale.

The Italian boss said:”I’m less happy after the game against Atletico because it wasn’t good, losing a derby is never a good thing. We need to react quickly, both in terms of our performance and results. I have confidence in the players that they will respond well. It is a question of spirit and attitude.”

He added: “Gareth Bale has not trained with the group due to muscular problems in his left thigh,” said a statement on the club’s official website. “The diagnosis is dependent upon tests which will be carried out tomorrow.”

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Madrid sports newspaper highlight today the fact that Real Madrid face their first crisis this season after being defeated at the derby against Atletico Madrid. Both dailies agree that Cristiano Ronaldo could have the solution.

“Cristiano Ronaldo against the crisis”, titles As. “Ronaldo steps up”, says Marca. “All the team is comitted and both Carlo Ancelotti and the squad believe in a reaction”, they add.

Both newspapers report in their front pages that Gareth Bale will miss another match, after suffering a relapse on his muscle fatigue. Meanwhile, “Iker Casillas will start a game at Santiago Bernabeu after nine months”, Marca reminds.

The most sold Spanish newspaper also highlights Sergio Ramos’ words in yesterday’s press conference. “We will fight to win the three titles,” the Spanish international claimed.

As emphasizes Carlo Ancelotti’s views on Karim Benzema’s state of shape: “If Benzema starts, he’ll play a good match”.

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