Ahead of the 2016 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid at the San Siro in Milan on Saturday night, Real club legend Ivan Campo gave his thoughts on the derby speaking exclusively to 888sport. The two-time winner of the trophy with Los Blancos in 2000 and 2002 was of the opinion that Gareth Bale could prove to be the match-winner in the final.
The Welsh forward, who sealed an £86m move to the Spanish capital in 2013, helped the club win both the Champions League and Copa del Rey finals in his first season, scoring on both occasions. And Campo believes he can repeat his heroics again.
“Gareth Bale has developed massively since joining Real Madrid,” Campo said. “Bale can certainly decide the final with his talent and skill and because of the way that he likes to drift into the middle like Ronaldo.
Although the 26-year-old Wales international has had a stop-start season due to injuries, he has still managed double figures for goals and assists. Bale has scored 19 goals so far and also provided 10 assists in all competitions in 2015/16 in spite of playing only 32 games.
“He can become the best player in the world, and he definitely has the potential. Simply playing in the Champions League Final has made him a world-renowned player.”
Real Madrid are not favourites in final: Campo
Zinedine Zidane’s side are looking to win the Champions League crown for the 11th time – the Undécima. Zidane is also looking to become only the seventh person to win the Champions League (or European Cup) as a player and as a manager.
However, Campo warned that his former club were not favourites against Diego Simeone’s side. Even though they have not lost a game since losing 2-0 to Wolfsburg at the start of April, Campo said that form did not matter in a final.
“I don’t think that Real Madrid are favourites in the final,” he said. “Anything can happen in the final; even Real Madrid can have a bad day.
“Form goes out of the window in the final, it’s all about who can hold their nerve. It is a great achievement in even reaching the final, but now there are no favourites. Real will have to play the match and see what happens!”
When questioned about what tactics should be employed, Campo was in favour of teams using the counter-attack to win the game. He was also quick to praise Simeone’s style of managing and motivating his players.
“Real Madrid’s camp is very positive with the counter-attacking style brought about by the arrival of Zidane,” Campo explained.
“However, Atletico have Simeone at the helm who is like having an extra man on your team, the way he motivates the players. Simeone is the master of motivation. Everyone can see what a wonderful job he is doing at Atletico.
“Atletico’s strength lies in their defending and playing on the counter-attack. I think we will see a very cautious final and that both sides will be most threatening on the counter-attack.”
Read the full 888sport interview with Ivan Campo here.
