Vincent Kompany believes he can handle Cristiano Ronaldo should the “all-time great” forward be fit when Manchester City play Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final second leg next week.
City shared a goalless draw with Real on Tuesday night at the Etihad Stadium in the opening leg, which Ronaldo missed because of a thigh injury.
The Portuguese is a three-times world player of the year and Real’s all-time record scorer with 360 goals. Despite the threat he may pose, however, Kompany wants to face him at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday.
“The only thing I can say is there’s nothing I look forward to more in my career than the chance to play against one of the all-time greats. I take it as a challenge to play against these guys,” the captain said.
“Of course I’ll need to have a good day. Of course you need the help of your team-mates and if your team plays well you can handle him. I hope it will happen many times in the future, that’s what I play football for.
“With Ronaldo it’s not so much his strength, it’s more his speed. He does everything a step faster than the other strikers. Even though you know where he’s going he can take a touch that puts him in a position to shoot so quickly. You might just not get there in time. He’s a danger at any time and any moment he has the ball. It’s that speed in everything he does.”
Kompany rates the second leg and the chance to reach the European Cup final as a landmark match. “It’s a career-defining game,” the defender said. “This was the first leg of it. The one thing is that it makes it easier [to raise your game].
“For us we will just need to stick to the gameplan. It’s going to be very clear. You guys can predict what’s going to happen. They are going to try and put us under pressure early doors, try and get that goal and the longer we are in the game the more we get a chance.”
Gareth Bale had a quiet outing in his first return to England since moving to Real in summer 2013 but the Welshman is confident that despite Real not having scored an away goal, the 10-times winners can reach the final.
“The most important thing was we have not conceded a goal in the first leg and we are in a much better position in this game than we were in the last one against Wolfsburg, so we’re confident,” he said of having lost 2-0 at the German club in the quarter-final first leg,
“We have such a good record at home in the Champions League so we’re looking forward to it. I’m sure the way we turned it round against Wolfsburg [winning the return 3-0] did make a sound wave across Europe and that’s always good for us.
“Being fully fit is the most important thing – that enables me to play my best. I feel like my form has been very good this season, coming back from injury, I carried on where I left off. Hopefully now I can see out the rest of the season with no problems and win some trophies.”
Bale is also desperate to be part of a Wales team that can beat England in the group stage of the summer’s European Championship finals. “I want it more than anything, you don’t understand. Everyone knows the rivalry and it’s going to be an amazing game and I’m confident we’ll come out on top,” the forward said.
“There’s no expectation, I’m really excited to go. It’s the first time that we’ve been there in a long, long time and we are going out there to try to win each game as it comes, and see where it takes us.”
