Madrid Internationals Back In Training

Following a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Deportivo on the opening weekend, anything but a victory over newly-promoted Numancia this weekend would be considered disastrous for Real Madrid. Preparation has not been ideal though, with a fair portion of the star-studded squad only returning from international duty over the last couple of days.

However, there was to be no respite for those who served their country when manager Bernd Schuster finally got his team together. The players worked to a fast tempo today in preparation for the clash against Numancia on Sunday and also for their Champions League opener against Bate Borisov next week.

Indeed, barring any last minute misfortune, Schuster will have a near full-strength squad to pick from for the two encounters, with the obvious exception of long-term crockWesley Sneijder. Both Raul and Guti, who were expected to miss the match, could now be in line for starting berths after resuming training during the week.

On paper, it looked as though Real Madrid had a fairly easy start to the season, with the match against Deportivo the only tricky one amongst ties with Numancia, Racing Santander and Real Betis. However, following the opening day defeat in the Riazor, the pressure is now on Schuster and his side.

After Numancia pulled off a huge shock by beating Barcelona last weekend, they will no doubt be full of confidence as they travel to Madrid.


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