Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster on Thursday tried to put a brave face on the decision of Cristiano Ronaldo to remain at Manchester United and not sign for the Spanish Champions.
"He (Ronaldo) has to do what he wants, although it is a shame that he is not going to be with us. But it's not a problem because the team is strong enough to face all of the objectives that we have set ourselves," said Schuster from Bogota on Thursday, before his side's friendly against Colombian side Independiente de Santa Fe.
So far Real have made only one signing this summer -- Dutch midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart, while they have lost Wesley Sneijder for three months with a knee injury.
"In three months we will have another great signing when Wesley Sneijder is fit again. We have to remain calm because we only need players who can give us a lot," said Schuster.
The Real Madrid coach has high hopes for van der Vaart.
"He is very similar to Guti, Baptista or Sneijder. He can help us with his technical ability and he can also score goals, as he proved when he played in Germany. He is the kind of footballer who will adapt well to Spanish football and will be a great help to the team," he said.
Schuster also talked about Real's pre-season performances, which have so far been solid if not as spectacular given their 0-1 loss to Arsenal at the weekend.
"We are still putting the finishing touches to things, in general we have a complete squad, with skill and which works hard. We are not just a team that wants to play pretty football, we also work hard and fight to the end," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2008)