Atlanta (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund will have to overcome “superstar” Sergio Ramos and his winning mentality to reach the Club World Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday, said the German team’s coach Niko Kovac. Former Real Madrid captain and four-time Champions League winner Ramos, 39, is Monterrey’s defensive leader and Kovac highlighted the Spaniard’s will to win and Monterrey’s aggression.
“He’s a superstar you know,” Kovac told a news conference Monday ahead of the last 16 clash against the Mexican side. “All the players that are playing so long…it shows their mindset. They are winners, they want to win in every single training session, every single game, they want to be on the top level with every single pass in training,” continued the Croatian.
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“He’s a leader, as a leader you want to be as long as possible on a high stage. It’s a little bit funny I’m now a coach and he’s still a player — but I think he will become a coach.” Ramos will do battle with Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy, who excelled this season and finished as the joint-top goalscorer in the Champions League with 13 strikes. The Guinea international is looking forward to taking on Ramos. “It’s going to be the first time, I’m looking forward to it, I want to play against Sergio Ramos, he’s a great defender,” Guirassy told reporters. “We will need to be strong, simply put.”
Kovac said his team needed to be aware of the combative style Ramos and his team-mates will employ in Atlanta. “The Latin American teams play robust football, with strong physicality — football is a contact sport, we can’t look it like basketball,” said Kovac. “I see it in a positive way, it’s the way I like to play. We have to adapt. One should not be provoked of course, but I told the players they have to defend themselves if they need to, I think the referees will have open eyes for that as well.”
The coach has complained about the intense heat at the tournament, with the German side forced to play in early kick-offs under a blazing sun, but Tuesday’s match at the air-conditioned Mercedes-Benz Stadium will offer his side some relief. “I think maybe with my statements I sometimes can be a bit annoying when I talk about certain factors that are repeated,” said Kovac. “I can confidently say we’re looking forward to tomorrow, the conditions will be better. We don’t have to play in 45 degrees Celsius. We’ve proved we can play high intensity football and this is what we want to do when it’s a bit cooler and the conditions are not so hot.”
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