‘Madrid derby time crazy’

Paulo Futre has labelled the scheduling of the derby between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid as ‘crazy.’

The former Atletico forward appeared on Onda Cero’s Al Primer Toque programme and echoed the opinions of many Atleti followers in complaining about the decision to play the derby on Saturday February 27, only a few days after Atleti travel to the Netherlands for the Champions League.

“It’s crazy. It’s a derby and because of its importance people have to be more rested. The same goes for the Copa del Rey and I’ll never understand this scheduling of the quarter-final,” Futre said, Marca reports.

“It’s an important competition, one that everyone wants to win and I fail to understand how each game is played…it’s madness.

“The derby is the same. In this case it will affect Atleti, but I’d say the same if it was the other way around.”

Futre was also asked about the situations of current Atletico strikers, starting with Fernando Torres’ future.

“Whether you start or you’re on the bench, you always dream you can do something important and resolve a game like he has done before,” Futre considered.

“All forwards live on spells [of playing and scoring] but I always have faith in Fernando. He’s a myth for all Atleti fans and why not keep him? It’d be best for everyone.

“He’s the flagship for the club for everything he has done and everything he represents.

“I still have tremendous faith in Jackson Martinez, that he can be the player he was at Porto. He’s in a completely different system and a couple of goals will boost his morale and make him a strong, important player for the rest of the season.”

The other end of the pitch also came under Futre’s eye, with Jan Oblak receiving praise for his performances.

“He’s made us forget Thibaut Courtois. He’s one of the best goalkeepers in the world,” Futre contended.

“The pair of goalkeepers Atletico have are perfect. There’s competition between them and it’s very good. Oblak has made Miguel Angel Moya a better goalkeeper and Moya has made Oblak better.

“We’ve seen in the Copa del Rey that Moya gives a great performance for the team.”

La Liga - Club News