Maurizio Sarri recently spoke ahead of the highly anticipated match between Napoli and Real Madrid: "It will require a lot of nerve. We must have the courage to play our style of football. For us it is important to understand where we stand compared to the best teams in the world. It is amazing to be able to play at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid. I have no doubts; I will play the formation which I believe to be the best, and which will guarantee the best defensive effort. However, we will will approach the match with the most offensive formation possible because it is impossible to contain the fury of Real Madrid. I am happy to have arrived at this point, but it was a long, difficult journey. We have improved, but we will be facing the best team in the world. It is clear why the Bernabeu is a difficult stadium: Real Madrid plays here. 50% of the reason I am at this this stage is luck, and the other 50% is because I deserved it."
Jose Callejon who once played for Real Madrid stated the following: "It is a great feeling to return here where we experienced many important events. We will take to the pitch trying to implement our style of play. It will be difficult, because we are playing against a great team. But we will try and want to put Real Madrid in difficulty. Playing the second game at the San Paolo is important but not decisive: against Real Madrid it is always difficult. We do not have a lot of maturity in European competition, but we must show concentration game after game. With a positive result tomorrow, we would take a big step forward."
Another ex-Real player, Raul Albiol, commented on the matchup in the following fashion: "We will confront very strong attackers; the numbers say this. We are playing against the Champions of Europe and the world, and so both games will be complicated. We must concentrate on our game from the beginning."
