SPAIN: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: Juan Onieva tells reporters that if he becomes Real Madrid's president he will name Hugo Sanchez as manager
Record ID:
861804
SPAIN: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: Juan Onieva tells reporters that if he becomes Real Madrid's president he will name Hugo Sanchez as manager
- Title: SPAIN: FOOTBALL/SOCCER: Juan Onieva tells reporters that if he becomes Real Madrid's president he will name Hugo Sanchez as manager
- Date: 22nd May 2009
- Summary: MADRID, SPAIN (MAY 21, 2009) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF JUAN ONIEVA ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE CLOSE OF ONIEVA ONIEVA AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) JUAN ONIEVA SAYING: "Of course I believe we can. That's why I'm here. You don't just organise all this given all the effort it takes unless it's from the premise that you will win the elections. And we think we can do it. We sincerely believe in the project we are presenting, we are convinced it is better placed within the values of Real Madrid compared to the Galacticos. That to me just sounds old. Sounds ancient. Because it is the same people. They haven't even modified anything, modified the bench a little to at least pretend it is not the same."
- Embargoed: 6th June 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Spain
- City:
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA81QXDLWZU1TUKTHGEFH9B09JJ
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- Story Text: Former Real Madrid Vice-President Juan Onieva announced his bid to become Real Madrid on Thursday (May 21).
Onieva's main rival Florenino Perez has promised a return to the Galactico glory days of his last tenure as Real President and according to Spanish media has targeted Inter Milan head coach Jose Mourinho to take over from interim boss Juande Ramos.
Onieva told reporters that his project was more in tune with the values of the club than the star-studded approach of his rival and suggested that former Madrid player Hugo Sanchez, who is currently in charge at Almeria, would be a more suitable manager than Mourinho.
"We sincerely believe in the project we are presenting, we are convinced it is better placed within the values of Real Madrid compared to the Galacticos," he said before adding: "Mourinho has come to Real Madrid was when he was a translator for Barcelona. So Hugo Sanchez has contributed a lot more to Madrid's history. More than Mourinho could dream of doing."
As a player, Sanchez represented Mexico at three World Cups and scored 164 goals for Madrid in eight seasons with the club.
Sanchez took over from Unai Emery at Almeria at the start of this season and has guided the team from Andalusia to a respectable mid-table finish.
Perez, who first became Real's President in 2000, brought two Spanish Championships and the Champions League to the Bernabeu in his first two years along with star players like Luis Figo and David Beckham.
But the sacking of Vicente del Bosque as manager and a reluctance to sign defensive players saw his reign fizzle out and end in resignation in 2006.
Despite the acrimonious end to his last reign, Perez is still the favourite to win this year's election. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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