Aitor Karanka has reflected on Real Madrid’s last meeting with Galatasaray and warned today’s dressing room of the Turks’ intensity as a unique trait.
Madrid are preparing this week for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Galatasaray at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“When you get to the Champions League, in a locker room like Real Madrid’s, a player in there knows that this game is special and different, both for the people and for the player himself,” reflected current assistant Coach Karanka to Madrid’s official website this week.
“We all know that Galatasaray have players with a lot of potential, a strong adversary, and great ability, and we know they are going to be dangerous.
“If there is something that distinguishes them, it's the intensity they give the game. And you have to come out with at least the same intensity.
“Then, in terms of quality, we’ve surely got great players, that’s being demonstrated, and let’s hope that that tips the balance toward our side.
“They are difficult games [to play]. They’ve got Drogba and Yilmaz, who is dangerous to play against, Hamit [Alintop] with his shots, Sneijder…
“They’re good players and we can’t allow ourselves to be even a little bit overconfident. What’s important, as it always is in Champions League home games, is to not let them make goals, and with the ability we have, we’re not going to let them.”
Karanka played for Madrid the last time they faced Galatasaray in the Champions League, back in 2001.
“At that time there were players like Jardel, Popescu, or Hagi, who had a lot of experience. They had taken the European Super Cup from us in Monaco, and we went into it forewarned.
“You go into the game more alert because you've seen that they can beat you.
“What I most remember is the atmosphere in the stadium. We all knew that the game was going to be good, but we didn’t imagine that, an hour and a quarter before starting, the locker room would be almost shaking from people jumping up and down.
“But once the game started, the team played well and adapted to those conditions with fortitude. We established a score of 0-2, but after the half, maybe the stadium with all the public’s support affected us, and maybe we let our guard down and they turned the game around.
“In the first half, you took a look at yourself and you could have played for an hour, because you had the game completely under control. And 25 minutes later you’re wishing for it to end, because there wasn’t any way to stop them. In Madrid, it was soon clear that we were better.”
