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"It's a great match for us right now because we have no choice but to stand up," Toni Kroos told AFP this week. "We have to show how good we are against a tough opponent and I think we can do it."
A surprise success would make it difficult to dismiss Lopetegui but five games without a win, more than eight hours without goal, are not forgotten either.
There were whistles unhappy full time Tuesday. Local fans fainted after watching a team with the best goalkeeper, defender and UEFA player hang on to defeat Viktoria Plzen 2-1.
After the match, Lopetegui talked about turning points and changes in dynamics, but his behavior may have betrayed the truth. "Anyway, I do not smile often," he says. Madrid's chaotic performance had weakened its position, but had not strengthened it.
Isco insisted on Monday that if they send the coach back, they must also dismiss the players. Lopetegui could have added that the one that the club had dropped last summer averaged 50 goals per season with him.
The players are however never responsible – certainly not those crowned champions of Europe just five months ago – and in addition, the coach sets the tone.
It instills confidence, which leads to creativity and precision. He also sets the rules and for some, maybe even for Perez, this team has been spoiled for too long.
For their part, the players could say that they have already struggled and they have succeeded, especially under Zinedine Zidane last season.
Confident of the alarm clock
"Trust in my opinion is not a problem," said Kroos, whose German coach, Joachim Loew, is among the candidates for Lopetegui's successor.
"We have a lot of World Cup and Champions League champions, and we have shown that we can turn things around – remember that in recent years we have not only played good games, but also bad.
"We create, we do everything in our power to get good results and that proves that we are behind the coach.C is a very good coach in my opinion and I am confident that we will be able to reverse the situation with him. "
Ernesto Valverde, opposed to Lopetegui this weekend, will also watch his Barca team with his own superstar.
It will be the first Clasico without Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo since December 2007. The strikers then included Ruud van Nistelrooy and Robinho for Madrid, Samuel Eto & # 39; o and Ronaldinho for Barcelona.
Messi will return in three weeks if his right arm heals as expected, but Ronaldo's final absence weighed more and more heavily on every missed opportunity.
When Barca played three games without a win last month, it was felt that both clubs were in crisis. Lopetegui was under pressure, as was Valverde.
Then Messi swept Tottenham to Wembley and, one day later, Madrid sank 1-0 to CSKA Moscow.
The momentum has diverged since. Two more defeats of Madrid followed, leaving Lopetegui on the edge of the pass while the Barca now has 10 points out of 12 and is at the top of the standings.
"Madrid will be even more dangerous," Valverde said Wednesday. "They will come here to demonstrate all the strength they have."
He also knows that if we manage to ward off a wobbly rival, doubts will be shared again, but victory will prevail and a seven-point gap will open.
Or, Madrid can reduce the score to one, with only one home game against Real Valladolid, against an opponent in the top half before Christmas. It will be either a chance for a revival of Lopetegui, or the perfect start for his successor.
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