Post-Match Player Reactions: Granada 0 – Real Madrid 4

Granada. What else can be said? A squad with so many issues that are readily available and exposed to all who dare take a peek, just achieved yet another heavy defeat against Real Madrid. This loss to them is pretty much the equivalent of adding yet another dent to a car in the salvage yard. The equivalent of getting dropped on the field, when already being stretchered out. (Yes, I’m not ashamed to say I’ve watched this video in more than ten instances and still manage to get a chuckle every time.) Granada was already guaranteed relegation from the Spanish top flight, why not have an impossible match up against the reigning European champions while at it?

The first 45 minutes of the match were a bloodbath in the Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes. Zidane’s young squad behaved like a shark. They smelled a bleeding victim and were vicious in attack. Once the bellies had been satiated, Granada had no response.

Casemiro was one of the few players on the pitch today that featured in the semifinal first leg against Atléti, and he gave a quick pitch-side interview. However, the headlines here are all about a particular pitch invader. Below are the events as they happened.

Spanish:

Periodista: Siempre es difícil ganar, pero no sé si ha sido el más sencillo o el menos exigente de la temporada

Casemiro: Nah, no hay partido fácil. Yo creo que hemos salido bien, hemos salido fuerte, hemos salido como tenemos que salir y entonces por eso el partido ha parecido que fue fácil, porque hemos salido muy fuerte y hemos salido bien.

Periodista: Casemiro, el barca también ya ha ganado, solo le quedan dos partidos, a vosotros uno más, tienen la sensación que ellos van a ganar sus dos encuentros y ¿os van a exigir no fallar?

Casemiro: No, nosotros no estamos fijándonos en Barcelona. Nosotros estamos pensando en lo nuestro todavía sigue dependiendo de nosotros. Sabemos que si ganamos todos, somos campeones entonces no hay mejor manera, no hay mejor forma de estar en La Liga por que dependemos de nosotros y seguimos trabajando para ganar La Liga.

Periodista: Antes del Sevilla, llega el Atlético de Madrid en Champions. El resultado que tenéis tres cero en la ida os permite ir, no relajados, ¿pero si algo más tranquilos y pensar un poco más en el Sevilla o no?

Casemiro: No, el futbol y champions, es semifinal de champions no permite eso. Si nos relajamos el atlético de Madrid te hace daño. Sabemos que es una semifinal de Champions League entonces hay que salir fuerte hay que salir para hacer goles y ganar el partido ahí también.

Periodista: Que tal, ya termino la última, que tal es jugar con el plantel B del Real Madrid? Que así os llamamos todos.

Casemiro: No, aquí no hay plan [tel] B. Sabemos todos que son jugadores que juegan menos pero son jugadores que se notan que están cometidos y es eso. El Madrid es eso. Los jugadores que toca jugar –

(Entra un Niño al campo y le pregunta a Casemiro)

Niño: Podéis darme tu camiseta por favor, dámela! Porfa!

Casemiro: Claro! (Se quita la chaqueta para empezar a darle la camiseta al niño.)

Periodista: Vamos a esperar un momento a que, a que le dé la camiseta, termina de darle la camiseta si quieres.

Casemiro: Si la camiseta (con una sonrisa enorme). No, claro que no hay plan [tel] B, sabemos que..

Policía ya se empezó a llevar al chico fuera del campo

Casemiro: Espera, espera, espera! Para, para, para. (Le dice al policía, que le deje dar su camiseta al chico antes de llevárselo.)

Casemiro: Sabemos que no hay Plan [tel] B y los jugadores que toca jugar tienen que jugar como jugaron hoy. Entonces hay que dar hora buena a los jugadores que jugaron hoy porque hemos hecho un buen partido.

Periodista: Bueno te dejamos que deis una sonrisa al niño!

English:

Reporter: It’s always difficult to win, but I don’t know if this has been the simplest or least taxing one of the season.

Casemiro: Nah, there is no easy match. I think we came out well, we’ve been strong, we played like we had to play and that’s why it seemed like the match was easy. Because we came out strong and we did things well.

Reporter: Casemiro, Barça have also won, there’s only two games left, y’all have one more. Is there a feeling that they’ll win their remaining fixtures and will force you to not fail?

Casemiro: No, we don’t pay attention to Barcelona. We are thinking about our matters, we are still dependent on ourselves. We know that if we win everything, we are champions, so there is no better way, no better manner of being in La Liga because we depend on ourselves and we continue to work towards winning La Liga.

Reporter: Before the Sevilla match, comes the Champions League match against Atlético de Madrid. The result that you have, 3 – 0 from the first leg allows you to, not go relaxed but, a little more calm and ready to think a bit more about Sevilla or not?

Casemiro. No, football and Champions, it’s a Semifinal in Champions League, doesn’t permit that. If we relax, Atlético will hurt you. We know that it is a Champions League semifinal so we have to come out strong and score goals and win that match as well.

Reporter: How is it, after playing this match, how does it feel to play with Real Madrid’s B squad? That is what we all call them.

Casemiro: No, here we don’t have a B squad. We all know that they’re players that play a little less but they are players that you can tell are committed and that’s it. That’s what Madrid is, the players that need to play---

(In comes a child to the pitch and asks Casemiro)

Child: Could you give me your shirt, please, give it to me! Please!

Casemiro: Of course! (Starts taking off jacket to give the child his shirt.

Reporter: We’ll wait a moment so that, that he can give him the shirt, (to Casemiro) finish giving him the shirt if you want

Casemiro: Yes, the shirt! (With a huge smile). But of course that there’s no B squad, we know that

Police have already begun escorting the child out

Casemiro: Wait, wait, wait! Stop, stop, stop. (He says to the cop as he wishes to give the child his shirt before he’s taken away)

Casemiro: We know that there’s no B squad and the players that have to play will play like they’ve played today. So we have to congratulate those that played today, because we played a great game.

Reporter: Well we’ll leave you to go and give the child a smile!