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Real-ity check Madrid favored in Manchester even without RaulPosted: Tuesday April 22, 2003 9:34 AMLONDON (AP) -- Raul or no Raul, Real Madrid is still an overwhelming favorite to oust Manchester United from the Champions League. Called the "best player in the world" by United manager Alex Ferguson after Real Madrid won the first-leg quarterfinal, Raul Gonzalez underwent emergency surgery on Monday for appendicitis. Raul scored two goals in the dominating 3-1 victory in Madrid two weeks ago. Even without Raul for Wednesay's return leg at Old Trafford, Real has superstars Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Luis Figo and remains a strong bet to reach the semifinals and win a 10th title. Ajax plays at AC Milan in Wednesday's other second-leg quarterfinal after a 0-0 draw in Amsterdam. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson had joked last week that Raul should be banned from entering the country for the second leg. "Alex Ferguson didn't want him (Raul) to be allowed into England and we've taken things a step further by not even letting him out of Spain," Madrid sporting director Jorge Valdano said. "All we can do is lament the situation and repeat the confidence we have in a squad that has won so much in recent years." Raul will be replaced up front by Jose Maria "Guti" Gutierrez. "It's left me speechless," Real Madrid coach Vicente del Bosque said. "There's no doubt that losing Raul is a big blow for us. Now we have to act like real professionals. We can't start crying about it." "The team has lost its flagship but we all hope that with the squad the club has we will overcome this setback," said Madrid's Spanish international goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Italian referee Pierluigi Collina will handle the match before a 67,500 sellout at Old Trafford. Collina refereed the World Cup final last summer between Brazil and Germany and is considered the game's best. Manchester United is the decided underdog but would advance to the semifinals with a 2-0 victory on the away-goal rule. English bookmakers have the Spanish as 1-7 odds-on favorites to reach the semifinals, with Man U at 4-1. One thing is certain: one of the sides won't be playing in the May 28 final at Old Trafford. Real Madrid and Manchester United have played seven times dating back to 1957, and the English team has won only once. That came in 1968, a 1-0 victory en route to the Reds' first of two European Cup titles. Man United will be without midfielder Paul Scholes and defender Gary Neville -- both suspended. Goalkeeper Fabien Barthez is nursing a thigh injury, while Argentine midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron is expected back after missing six weeks with a knee injury. "Nobody needs to be reminded what is at stake," Man U winger Ryan Giggs said. "The players don't need motivating before games like this, the incentive to win and qualify is clear. If we manage to turn things round against Madrid, that would be some result. You wouldn't forget that in a hurry." The match between five-time champion AC Milan and four-time winner Ajax is wide open, with the Italians slight favorites as the home team. Ajax coach Ronald Koeman knows anything is possible. Koeman scored the decisive free-kick winner in 1992 to give Barcelona a 1-0 win over Sampdoria -- its only European Champions Cup title. "The pressure is on Milan, but don't rule out a surprise," he said. "We showed against Valencia and Arsenal that we can score. And until the game is over anything can happen. But of course, Milan is the favorite." Ajax's star midfielder Rafael van der Vaart and striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic are slightly injured but expected to play. Van der Vaart has a slight concussion and Ibrahimovic has a groin injury. Tomas Galasek and Maxwell Scherrer are considered doubtful with Jari Litmanen also nursing a small injury. "In a game like this, players can bear their aches easier. But I don't want to start with eight or nine players who are hurting," Koeman said. "For this kind of game, players can repress anything. It's usually in the games after the Champions League duels that you can see they're worn out." Koeman said he hoped to control play, which the Dutch did in Amsterdam. "As long as we have the ball, they can't do anything." Milan has midfield problems with Clarence Seedorf and Andrea Pirlo out for the season. Gennaro Gattuso is banned and Brazilian Serginho is injured. Coach Carlo Ancelotti will probably go with Manuel Rui Costa, Cristian Brocchi, Massimo Ambrosini and Kakhaber Kaladze. Ancelotti is almost certain to rely on Filippo Inzaghi and Andriy Shevchenko up front after a feeble 1-0 loss on Saturday against Empoli. Inzaghi is anxious to forget about Empoli and start thinking about Ajax. "I'm furious, for two days my brain was wracked trying to understand how it happened," he said. "But now we can't think about it any longer." "Because there's still a lot of work to do and now there's the Champions League, which is the biggest goal of the season." Shevchenko has scored 22 goals in the Champions League without ever winning the tournament. "It certainly would have been better to have beaten Empoli for our morale, but this is a team of motivated experts," the Ukrainian said. "We're missing many players, but we've got many others." |
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