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Mourinho's friendship with Galatasaray duo will count for nothing, insists Butragueno
Mar 15, 2013 1:45:00 PM
The Portuguese will come up against his former players Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba but the ex-Spain striker thinks that their relationship will be put to one side
EXCLUSIVEBy Kris Voakes in Nyon
Real Madrid director Emilio Butragueno believes friendships will count for nothing when Blancos boss Jose Mourinho and Galatasaray duo Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba clash in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The draw was made on Friday morning and the Liga giants will fancy their chances of progressing after avoiding favourites Barcelona as well as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich and Serie A table-toppers Juventus.
But Butragueno says despite the history shared between the Portuguese trainer and the Gala players who he coached - Drogba at Chelsea and Sneijder at Inter - the friendship will not affect Mourinho's desire for victory.
"They have an extraordinary relationship, but that happens quite often, and now they have different goals and they will do their best to help Galatasaray," he told Goal.com.
"Mourinho will of course want us to be here again for the semi-final draw and before the game and after the game I'm sure [they'll talk], but during the game we will be focused on our goals."
And the former Spain striker is well aware of the threat Sneijder and Drogba will pose.
He added: "Galatasaray are here because they deserve to be here. They have a very good team, and with Drogba and Sneijder they are stronger, so we have to be very respectful because they have shown they are very competitive.
"With the first leg at home, we need a good result to take to Turkey. There'll be an incredible atmosphere over there."
With Barcelona and Real Madrid having avoided each other in the quarter-finals there is now a possibility that the Liga giants could face each other in the final but Butragueno is only focused on the game at hand.
"That's very far ahead so we have to be focused on Galatasaray, try to do our best, try to qualify for the semi-finals, and then we'll see."
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