MADRID.- The coach of real Madrid, Alvaro Arbeloaconsidered on Monday, on the eve of the first leg of the quarterfinals of the Champions League against him Bayern Munichwhich the French superstar Kylian Mbappé He signed for the whites to shine “in games like this one.”
Asked about the French scorer, now recovered from a knee injury, the white coach declared at a press conference: “He has different characteristics from Brahim (Díaz) and we have to play in a different way. I am delighted to have that problem of having great players at my disposal.”
“Mbappé has come to Madrid for games like tomorrow’s and qualifying matches like this one. Surely we will see Kylian giving his best level and leading the team as he knows how to do,” he added about the Frenchman, criticized for his limited participation last Saturday in the defeat in Majorca (2-1), in his first game as a starter after the injury that kept him off the field for almost a month.
Of the captain of the Blues, author of 38 goals in 35 games this season, Arbeloa insisted to reporters that “having players like him is extraordinary luck.”
“I think that no coach in the world would not want to have him on their team. I put myself in the shoes of rival defenders who have to face players like Kylian, Vinicius, Bellingham, who are among the best in the world…”.
The Brazilian Vinicius appeared alongside the coach, who highlighted his good connection with Mbappé, despite reports to the contrary: “Kylian is here to help us, he gives us the confidence of his goals. We have to be connected tomorrow. It is a complicated match in which the great players make the difference and Mbappé is one of them.”
“There are racists in every country”
Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward, Vinicius, one of the standard-bearers in the fight against racism and a frequent victim of insults and discrimination, warned this Monday that “there are racists in every country.”
Vinicius celebrated that other players are joining this fight, such as Lamine Yamal, who last week criticized the fans who attended the friendly match Spain-Egypt in Barcelona and that they sang on several occasions “Muslim he who doesn’t bounce.”
“It is important that Lamine speaks, this can help others because we are famous, we have money and we can balance things better,” he declared at a press conference prior to the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against Bayern Munich.
