Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is adamant that his matchwinning goals in Schalke's 4-3 Champions League win at Real Madrid were not revenge for the Liga club's treatment of him over half a decade ago.
The Netherlands striker was signed during the winter transfer window
of 2008-09 by the Blancos but was cast away to AC Milan just a few
months later.
And Huntelaar returned to wreak havoc on the European champions as
Roberto Di Matteo's men triumphed at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday,
scoring twice including the late winning goal.
"My two goals weren't any kind of revenge at the Bernabeu for having played here at Real Madrid," the 31-year-old told reporters afterwards. "Not at all.
"I enjoy playing here every match at the Bernabeu, it's the best pitch and the best stadium in the world.
"We felt the fear within the Bernabeu after we scored the first goal.
It was a dangerous situation for Madrid. On the pitch, we felt the fear
of fans and the players; we knew we could win."
The victory over a mediocre Madrid was not enough to see Schalke into
the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but Huntelaar thinks his
former club should not be ruled out as contenders on the basis of this
defeat.
"It was a big disappointment for us not to qualify," he added. "We
won the game, but it was a bit disappointing not to reach the last
eight.
"Are Real Madrid worse than last season? One can only analyse this as
a single game. They have a lot of quality, they are well-placed to
defend their status as European champions. I think they can win the
Champions League again, but will not be easy for them."
Huntelaar's team-mate Leon Goretzka also lamented the aggregate
defeat and says it will be a slog to turn their focus from failed
European qualification to a top-four finish domestically.
"We put in a very good performance," the Schalke midfielder, 20, said. "It was disappointing because we did so well.
"If there were five minutes more, maybe we would have scored the
fifth goal. We scuppered a great chance to qualify, it was right there
in front of us.
"This result is not easy for us. It will be difficult for us to concentrate on the Bundesliga alone again."
No comments:
Post a Comment