It was a very big mistake not to replace Ronaldo!

After making 310 appearances for Liverpool, Steve McManaman became only the second English player to run out for Real Madrid. At the Santiago Bernabeu, the Englishman lifted six titles, including two UEFA Champions League trophies. In the build-up to the upcoming El Clasico, Soccer Laduma’s David Kappel was able to chat to McManaman, who now works as a LaLiga ambassador, about the clash between the two Spanish rivals, how it feels to score in an El Clasico, why Los Blancos made a mistake in not replacing Cristiano Ronaldo and why Zinedine Zidane was better than the rest of the ‘Galacticos’.

David Kappel: Steve, we’ve had a look at the stats and if we’re not mistaken, you never lost an El Clasico when you were on the pitch. Is that correct?

Steve McManaman: Yes. I did not realise it as a player, but a lot of people have made me aware of it.

DK: You scored in an El Clasico in a UEFA Champions League semifinal on your way to the title in 2002. How did it feel to score in such an important fixture?

SM: Yes, David, it was amazing. It was such an important game. Zinedine Zidane scored the first goal and I scored the second. When you win away from home in a Champions League semi-final, you almost feel like you have reached the final. It is such a good result and we played very well. And I will always remember the Spanish players in the team were celebrating like crazy because we were beating Barcelona, so everybody was very, very happy.

DK: Can you describe to our readers how much tension and pressure there is leading up to an El Clasico?

SM: The pressure is massive. All fans want to know how everybody is, whether anyone is injured. Everyone is very excited, that is why it is so important not to lose the game. It is very important to try and win, try and play well. DK: How does it feel to walk

through the streets of Madrid after beating your bitter rivals?

SM: It is amazing, as you can imagine. When you play for Real Madrid, you want to be successful; you want to win trophies. And if you can do that, beating your bitter rivals is very important to the fans that you can do this.

DK: Let’s look at the upcoming game. Both Real Madrid and Barca are currently not at their best. Who do you favour for the upcoming Clasico at Camp Nou?

SM: Both teams are not playing very well and seem a bit out of form really. The fact that the game is at the Camp Nou, I think it makes Barcelona the favourites to win the game. I think it will be very difficult for Real Madrid, because they are not playing very well and not scoring many goals. They are missing Cristiano Ronaldo. The team is under pressure. But we will wait and see… it’s always an incredible game.

DK: Lionel Messi is currently the all-time record scorer in the fixture, while Real Madrid lost their jointtop scorer in Cristiano Ronaldo. How do you think Real can stop Messi? ( Ed’s note: This interview was conducted before Messi got injured.) SM: It will be very difficult because he is in such good form, he is scoring a lot of goals. I saw him at Wembley against Tottenham in the Champions League, he was absolutely exceptional. So they’re going to have to work hard, they have to be defensively very strong. He is such an amazing player and he has been over the last 10 years – it is very, very difficult to stop him.

DK: Do you think Real made a mistake by not replacing Ronaldo with another high profile signing?

SM: Yes, yes! I think it is a very easy question to answer. When

someone has averaged one goal per game, like Cristiano has, and the mentality he has when he plays football, I think it was a big mistake not to replace him, yes.

DK: You played for the club around the time of the first ‘Galacticos’ wave. Real have always brought in top quality players – do you know why they decided not to replace him?

SM: I don’t know, I don’t know why they didn’t do it. I think they should have done it. Maybe the players they wanted were not available. When you look at it, they brought the goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, in, they bought Alvaro Odriozola and Mariano Diaz very late. But I think they should have done more to bring in a centre forward, you know, a world-class centre forward. And I think they should have done as much as they can to replace Ronaldo.

DK: You once said everyone was a good player at Los Blancos, but one player – Zinedine Zidane – stood out above everyone else. Can you describe for us how good he really was as a player?

SM: Well, I think he was an absolute leader on the pitch. We had many leaders on the pitch, but there was something about the way he played. He was very classy. He looked like he was in slow motion all the time, the way he played. And, as you rightly said, we have had some amazing players at the time, but to chose one who stood out above the rest, it would probably have to be Zidane.

DK: Which five Madrid players would make your five-a-side dream team?

SM: As the goalkeeper it would be Iker Casillas – it has to be him; Fernando Hierro, Roberto Carlos… there were so many good players… Zizou and Ronaldo Nazario. That’s

five, but it’s actually a very difficult question.

DK: You became only the second English player behind Laurie Cunningham to run out for Real. How proud did this make you feel?

SM: Very proud. It is a club with such a history, very famous white shirts. The players who have played for the club before, Alfredo Di Stefano, Paco Gento and Ferenc Puskas, incredible players. So it was an amazing feeling to run out for this club and a great honour to play.

DK: In your autobiography El Macca, you once described the first Galacticos era as the “Disneyfication of Real Madrid”. What did you mean with this expression?

SM: Well, I thought the year I left in 2003/04 was the first time that they didn’t concentrate on the football. It wasn’t the whole time I was there, just the latter part. When normally we have had a hard pre-season and training, and we worked hard, the year I left we went to about five or six different countries, we didn’t have any sleep, we didn’t train much. It was all just about marketing and merchandising rather than playing football at the time. And, to be honest, I think I was pretty right, because when I left subsequently Real Madrid struggled and they changed managers about four to five times in quick succession.

DK: You have played many games and even finals with Real Madrid. Is there any game that

sticks in your mind as the greatest you were involved in?

SM: It’s probably the Champions League final. It’s a big game. Everybody remembers those types of games. And the fact that we won and the fact that I scored a goal make it even more obvious.

DK: What were the main differences between playing in the Premier League and Spain’s LaLiga?

SM: It is just a very different style of football, the way they play, the way they press. LaLiga has been more successful in European competitions than the Premier League. But the two leagues are very, very different.

DK: Thanks so much for your time and insight.

SM: Ok, you are welcome.