© EuroFootball.com
The head coach of Real Madrid, Wanderley Luxemburgo, criticized his players for their attitude after suffering a defeat in La Coruna against the local team "Deportivo" on Wednesday.
After the 3-1 loss to "Real," some players mentioned that the team lacked commitment.
"We knew that 'Deportivo' would pressure us, but we cannot just stand and wait," the coach angrily stated. "We should have pressed them and attacked more. We lacked commitment, we should have put in more effort."
On Sunday, "Real" lost at home to "Valencia," while "Deportivo" maintained a streak of 14 years without a defeat at home against "Real" with this victory.
The defeat on Wednesday was already the fourth setback for "Real" in this year's season in the Spanish championship. With 15 points after 9 games, they are in fifth place in the standings.
"Real" had to play these games without the injured Julio Baptistos, Ronaldo, Z. Zidane, and M. Salgado, as well as the suspended Thomas Gravesen, but V. Luxemburgo stated that the absence of these players is not an excuse.
"A team like 'Real' cannot justify defeats with the absence of several players," the Brazilian coach said. "Real' cannot play like they did in the first 65 minutes."
The coach also expressed disappointment with the English player D. Beckham, who played after the Spanish Football Federation overturned his red card, mentioning that the midfielder played without commitment, but also adding that he was feeling pain.
"Real" goalkeeper from Uruguay, Pablo Garcia, said after the match that he was disappointed with the team's commitment. "It's one thing to lose when the team gives all its strength, but we cannot lose matches like we did yesterday (Wednesday). We are mature enough to know how to play. Playing like that, we will definitely not achieve anything. Simply passing the ball from one side of the field to the other will not bring any good. They wanted to win, put in their last drop of sweat, and won."
