Former Real Madrid player and manager Jorge Valdano has spoken of his optimism for a successful end to the campaign for Los Blancos thanks to the return of a number of senior players from injury.
Results so far in 2015 haven’t been as Real would have liked – they were dumped out of the Copa del Rey by Atletico de Madrid, and they dropped points in La Liga against Barcelona, Villarreal, Athletic Bilbao and Atletico to damage their hopes of winning the league.
But speaking to reporters on Thursday, Valdano said he was hopeful of a positive end to the season – particularly in the Champions League – with Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos and James Rodriguez all returning to fitness. The holders take on beaten finalists Atletico next month in the quarter finals.
“Real Madrid will go into the tie in much better shape than in recent matches. Modric and Ramos are recovering and James is expected to be back,” he said.
And he added: “They need to play like they did in Barcelona, without making any mistakes. If they team are capable of reaching that level of concentration, then they have a great chance in both the Champions League and La Liga.”
