Real Madrid are set on delivering a strong Champions League performance against Schalke 04 to tie up the last sixteen round and move forward in the competition.
Germany is not the land of hard knocks it used to be for Real Madrid. In fact, it was more like three steps to heaven in the last campaign, with ‘Los Blancos’ marching through Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund and Munich before moving on to Lisbon to secure their coveted ‘Decima’ crown.
Germany no longer represents such an ominous prospect. The great disappointments are forgotten, as are some of the darkest nights Real Madrid has known in Europe.
There may still be some ghosts lingering with regard to Dortmund, but a tenth Champions League win and those stunning demolitions against Schalke (1-6) and Bayern (0-4) have turned the tables so that ‘Los Blancos’ have now become the nemesis of German football.
Real look set to travel a similar road again this season in their quest for even greater glory – to put themselves in the Champions League final for the second year running.
Berlin is already looming on the horizon and Gelsenkirchen once again marks the starting point. Real Madrid, just like last year, are the clear favourites to go through to the quarter-finals but the clouds of doubt that have gathered over ‘Los Blancos’ in recent weeks mean that there is a certain degree of trepidation surrounding this knockout tie, even from inside the club itself.
From : Marca.com
