Real Madrid winger Angel di Maria has said he will always give his very best for the team whenever he steps out onto the pitch.
The Argentine scored Madrid’s third goal in Los Blancos’ 3-0 win over Atletico de Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final at the Santiago Bernabeu. The win exorcised the ghosts of last season’s final when Real, managed by Jose Mourinho, slipped to a 2-1 defeat to their city rivals. Barring a disaster in the second leg next week, Carlo Ancelotti’s men will be in their third Copa del Rey final in four years.
Di Maria spoke to journalists after the game and expressed his delight at the win. He also stated how happy he was to hear the crowd chant his name – just a month after he was booed by the home support for what they considered a below par performance. He then landed himself in hot water for making an apparent rude gesture towards them.
But after his goal and the win over Atletico, he vowed to always wear the shirt with pride. “I am very happy with the ovation that the crowd gave me and I keep showing them I’m giving my all for this shirt. The goal was a bit lucky but the important thing is that things keep going well,” he said.
And the winger praised the team for the overall performance against Diego Simeone’s men. He said: “We did a great job. We did what we’ve been working on in training; pressing up front and giving one hundred percent. We are happy because we got the result that we wanted. We knew that their game is all about intensity and running, and we had to do the same or more than them. We did a great job and we still have to do a good job in their stadium.”
