Marcelo has defended Tottenham Hotspur against accusations they are, to use the phrase coined by Pep Guardiola last month, “the Harry Kane team”, but admitted that the striker’s absence would have a profound impact on Real Madrid’s return Champions League fixture against Spurs at Wembley.
With the England striker’s participation in Wednesday night’s match still uncertain – though Mauricio Pochettino said on Tuesday that he was “very confident” the player would be fit – the Real left-back said that while the result of Kane’s late fitness test would “make a big difference”, Tottenham would present a profound test of his team’s currently unreliable form.
“For me it does make a big difference if he is not fit,” Marcelo said. “Kane is a very important player, but Tottenham are far more than just one player. I’ve seen many of their matches and I’ve seen Harry Kane do great things but I’ve also seen the rest of their team produce great things out on the pitch. For us the most important thing is not just to think about Kane but rather to consider the group, and be ready to take on the team as a whole.”
Should either side win at Wembley they would guarantee their progress from Group H with two games to spare, but though Real are unbeaten in Europe this season their domestic form has been worrying, with Sunday’s shock defeat at Girona leaving them eight points behind Barcelona after 10 league matches. “Despite everything we’re not going to lose our heads,” said Marcelo. “We need to stay cool, calm and collected at this moment and work hard to put things right.”
The Brazilian’s coach, Zinedine Zidane, suggested that there were aspects of Real’s current troubles that he actually enjoys. “After a defeat of course people aren’t happy but in some ways I actually like this,” he said. “I like the motivation of a big match coming, so we can get back to winning ways. This is something that inspires me. When the going gets tough, that’s when I’m at my best. Life after all is like this: there are hard moments but you need to work through them and come back stronger.”
Like Girona, Tottenham play with three central defenders, a formation against which Real have struggled at times under Zidane. “I think Mauricio Pochettino’s doing a fantastic job, not just with the team but building a club that now has very high aspirations,” said Zidane. “But I don’t see playing against three defenders as a particular problem. We play sometimes against three at the back, against four and against five, and tomorrow we’ll see what Tottenham are playing. You may think they’ll play with three at the back, but we’ll find out what their formation is tomorrow.”