Pires: Difficult To Win, But Not Impossible

Yellow Submarine winger Robert Pirès admitted that it will be complicated for his side to win at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday, but he is not convinced that it is a mission impossible.

Dec 30, 2008 9:04:52 PM

More On :  Robert Pires
Robert Pires - Villarreal (Marca)

After a phenomenal start to the league campaign, Villarreal, the Spanish club of American Jozy Altidore, have suffered a painful dip in form in the latter stages of 2008. They have won just one of their last six league games and they have gone from as high as second spot in the La Liga BBVA standings all the way down to sixth.

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They will kick-off the New Year with a trip to the Santiago Bernabéu to face a rejuvenated Real Madrid side, a match that their attacking midfielder, Robert Pirès, acknowledged will be a complicated contest.

“Real Madrid are not doing as badly as people are saying. For me, they are the favorites on Sunday,” he was quoted as saying by Marca.

“They have made a lot of changes, such as a new coach and new players, but we are going to see what we can do to grab a victory.

“It will be very difficult to win or even earn a point in Madrid, but it won’t be impossible.

“If we play at the Bernabéu like we did against Barcelona, then we can win. We must have the same motivation and spirit and use the mentality that we showed against Barça as our reference,” he added.

The 35-year-old was not concerned that the media spotlight has all been on Los Blancos during the winter break, without much attention on El Submarino.

“No one is talking about Villarreal? Even better. This way, it will be easier for us to go there and surprise them on Sunday.

“We are going to Madrid to win. We finished off 2008 badly but we want to make sure 2009 starts with a victory,” he concluded.

--KS Leong, Goal.com

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