Teams (maybe)
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Casillas; Ramos, Pepe, Carvalho, Marcelo; Khedira, Alonso; Di Maria, Ronaldo, Ozil; Abedayor.
Tottenham (4-4-1-1): Gomes; Corluka; Gallas, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Sandro, Modric, Bale; Van der Vaart; Crouch.
My Gooner pal Kelvin is praying that Spurs don\’t get an away goal.
Personally, I think Spurs might score from a set-piece.
My Spurs mate Mark Jacob is there with his Uncle Zak and Mark told me they\’ll go from the airport to his brother Gary’s hotel, near the stadium. Gary writes about football for The Times.
A composed craftsman who can construct moves from any part of the pitch, Luka Modric who has been one of the best midfielders in the EPL this season.
He\’s been waiting all his life to play in a game like this.
Khedira, a big bullying midfielder, might not be able to get near Modric, who has good vision, great feet, and a nice swerve.
If Modric is making Jose Mourinho feel uncomfortable, Lassana Diarra will come on. Diarra could even start the game.
Sandro has appeared almost out of nowhere.
A six foot Brazilian with a big engine, he\’s somebody you need against a bunch of tough competitors like this Real Madrid team. Sandro has pedigree and he covers two-thirds of the pitch. If he gets injured, Spurs could be crushed.
Remarkably, striker Higuain came back against Gijon last Saturday, three months after surgery for a slipped disc.
Having watched Real Madrid quite closely all season, I’d say this : Ozil can link with Ronaldo and left-footed winger Di Maria. But Benzema is out and will struggle to make the second leg.
For me, Cristiano Ronaldo is a powerhouse athlete who was at his best aeroplaning in from the flanks and interchanging at pace with Tevez and Rooney, two fierce but generous competitors who made him more dynamic than he will ever be again. Tevez is more selfish now, so he scores more goals.
At Real Madrid, Ronaldo is an individualistic goal-machine who gets the ball and says: I’ll show you what an £80 million player can do, I\’ll beat you and I\’ll beat you as well, and I’ll score, and then you can cheer me.
However, I can\’t believe that Ronaldo will be anywhere near his best tonight.
If he was a foxy player, he could play in spurts and work his way into the game. But he\’s not a foxy player. He\’s an energy player who will want to explode, score early, and demand the ball from then on.
We see Chelsea take on Man United all the time, so this is the most interesting quarter-final.
Real Madrid have some great players but don’t yet have great teamwork.
It\’s a new team, a collection of gladiators who are now eight points behind Barcelona, so this is their biggest game of their season. They\’re under a lot of pressure and there will be hell to pay if they fail again.
Having said that, this is a 180-minute match.
If they have to, Madrid could win the second leg. Di Maria could give Spurs more problems than Bale gives Madrid.
Tonight\’s drama will be fun for armchair fans of the Champions League.
And massive for lifelong Spurs fans like Mark and Zak.
Last Saturday, coming home from the Blackburn game, I saw that neighbour Tony\’s front room lights were on, so I went in to watch the first half of Villarreal-Barcelona with him. Tony said that Gijon had beaten Real 1-0, the first home defeat for Mourinho in nine years at Porto, Chelsea, Inter and Real.
On Monday I saw some highlights of that game. After De La Cuevas scored a fine goal for Gijon in 79, Madrid cranked up the tempo and threw everything at them, Khedira had two efforts blocked on the line. It was all tackles, saves, crosses, headers and last-ditch defending by the visitors, who are just above the drop-zone in La Liga.
For the last three weeks, Tony has been telling me that Spurs can win because Ramos and Marcelo are not Mourinho-type defenders. Myself, I love the chunky Marcelo, an adventurous left back who gets into the box and makes things happens. In some home games, Marcelo is their best forward. He is as important as a left back can be, in my view.
Conclusion: This could be Ozil\’s night.
The German has taken on a big challenge. He\’s 22, left-footed, fast, great temperament, wonderful work ethic, inventive, takes a good corner, and is not scared to smash a shot from 25 yards.
Nine goals and 14 assists so far ? I\’d call that a good start a new league.
His national team coach Joachim Löw says “Ozil has always been an excellent player with the ball. Under Mourinho. he has become a very good one without it, too.”
Forget to mention : the key defender is playing. The one who\’s been here before, relishes a battle, plays with intense concentration. How fit is he? Fit enough, I hope.
For William Gallas, as for Graeme Souness, these are the games you live for.
Can\’t wait. I\’m really, really up for this one.
PS. Samuel Eto\’o will score for Inter against Schalke.