Del Bosque expects a tight clash between Schalke and Galatasaray

The Spain head coach claims the Turkish side are equally matched with their Champions League rivals, and has lauded praise on recent signings Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba.

Spain boss Vicente del Bosque feels Galatasaray and FC Schalke 04 are evenly-matched ahead of the UEFA Champions League 1^st leg tie in the round of 16. The German club have struggled in recent games, while the Super Lig team have been improved by the January signings of Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder.

The veteran trainer claimed that both teams play attractive football, and the two legs will be very exciting to watch. He highlighted the two high-profile transfers and said they will be a big boost for the Turkish giants. He credited Chelsea’s last year success to Didier Drogba as he put in brave performances in the competition.

“[They are] two teams who play good football, and they’ll be two difficult matches,” the former Spain international added.

“They’re equal, for me. Galatasaray have the same chance as Schalke. But Galatasaray are motivated for such competitions and do well,” he mused.

“They [Drogba and Sneijder] are very good transfers. Chelsea’s Champions League win last year depended very much on Drogba’s performances, I think. He’s a very brave, very good player. Sneijder is also a top-quality midfielder,” he stated.

“I have never said a word against the Besiktas board, no matter what happened. I do not have any grudge against them,” he said.

“We were happy in Istanbul, and we need to accept that things happen in football. We tried to do our best. We have fantastic memories from there. I always want Besiktas to do well,” he finally concluded.

The former Real Madrid coach also had a spell at Besiktas. He said that he was happy in Istanbul and want his former side to do well in the future.

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Posted by Rizwan Kazmi on Feb 13 2013. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.