05/12/2005
New Real boss appeals to players and fans for support
Newly appointed Real Madrid coach Juan Ramon Lopez
Caro says that he will only be able to succeed if he is given full backing by
the club's leading players and its fans.
"The team needs the support of everyone and we all have to row in the same
direction," Lopez Caro told the club's website on Monday.
"It is at difficult times like this that people have to show their
professionalism. The fans have a fundamental part to play at the club and their
support has to be the foundation of everything.
"But the real protagonists are the players and it is they who have to get us out
of this situation."
Lopez Caro was appointed as coach on a caretaker basis after the club sacked
Vanderlei Luxemburgo on Sunday following the side's lacklustre 1-0 victory at
home to Getafe.
Fans called for the Brazilian to be axed at the end of the game and jeered the
players for their poor performance, prompting goal scorer Ronaldo to complain
about their attitude.
"The fans need to be with us, but it is more like playing away from home at the
moment," said the Brazilian.
Lopez Caro, who led Real's reserve team to promotion to the second division last
season and has been at the club for four years, is the sixth coach to take
charge of the first team since June 2003.
"It hadn't entered my head that I might coach the first team, but it is an
exciting challenge, full of responsibility and a job that has a very high
profile," he said." "All I can promise is hard work and enthusiasm. It is the
great players that are in the club who have to have confidence in their ability.
"I'm certain that if we all work together we can take this club back to where it
belongs and that means being the best in the world."
Lopez Caro's first task will be to lead the team in their final Champions League
group match against Olympiakos on Tuesday.
With qualification for the last 16 already guaranteed, he has taken nine reserve
team players with him to Athens and decided to rest leading figures such as
Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, Roberto Carlos and Iker Casillas.
His first domestic fixture will be Sunday's Primera Liga match at Malaga.
