Malmo Coach Age Hareide says his side are ‘prepared for the point we need’ against Real Madrid in his last match on the bench.
Hareide will step down from his post after the Champions League tie at Santiago Bernabeu and told a pre-match Press conference he’s trying not to think of the match as his final one in charge.
“Clearly I want to think of it as a normal game. It’s been a fantastic journey for two years, we’ve experienced a lot, and I’m sure there will be many emotions,” he said, Marca reports.
Malmo need to take something from Madrid and hope Shakhtar Donetsk are beaten by Paris Saint-Germain if they’re to take third place and with it, a spot in the Europa League.
“There are always possibilities in football and although Madrid have already qualified, we know they’ll try to win because it’s the Champions League,” Hareida predicted.
“We know it’ll be difficult but we’ll prepare to get the point we need. That’s my job and the players’ job.
“I think we did well against Madrid [in Sweden]. But there was too much emotion at playing against stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, and eventually we were effected. We did good work but small mistakes cost us goals.
“Being thrashed hurts but most important is to work well as a team, stay organised, together. I believe we’ll play a good game as a team.”
Hareide also had his say on Madrid’s disqualification from the Copa del Rey, for fielding Denis Cheryshev when the Russia winger had a one-game suspension to serve.
“If everyone was perfect then the world would be too, but sometimes human beings make mistakes,” he argued.
“Football is a game and it’s based on errors. It would be very boring otherwise. To err is part of human nature. It’s a punishment that Madrid are out of the Cup, because surely everyone wants to see the best teams in the competition.”
