Jude Bellingham on Madrid's mindset as they look to turnaround Arsenal's 3-0 lead
15/04/2025
uefa25 champions league
Real M adrid 0-3 Arsenal quarter final second leg
15/04/2025
uefa25 champions league
Real M adrid 0-3 Arsenal quarter final second leg
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hola Jude.
00:01Hello Jude, Victoria Ocalero live for Real Madrid Television.
00:05During these two seasons that you've been in Real Madrid,
00:07you've lived great nights, great comebacks in Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
00:13According to everything you've lived, how important are supporters for tomorrow?
00:19Everyone, yeah, really important.
00:22I think they're huge in creating an atmosphere and an energy inside the stadium that's infectious
00:28and the players really thrive off that.
00:31They can almost sense that when the crowd are up for it, it's an even bigger game
00:35and it means more to them.
00:37So it brings a better level from us.
00:40I don't have to ask the Madridistas to do anything that they haven't done for us already.
00:45They perform and they deliver on these nights every single time.
00:50And now it's about us matching their desire to win, their energy,
00:54and producing a performance that they can be proud of.
00:58Hola Jude, aquí.
00:59Hi Jude, here Abraham Romero of El Mundo.
01:02I'd like to ask you about the most repeated word in the changing room during these days.
01:10Honestly, I've heard it about a million times since the last week.
01:13I've seen a million videos online and made by fans, made by kind of you guys, I suppose,
01:20and really motivating stuff.
01:24It's a night that's made for Real Madrid, a night that would go down in history,
01:31but also be something that people are familiar with around this part of the world.
01:36So, yeah, hopefully we can add another special night.
01:39Hi Jude, Jose Aguado for La Razón.
01:46So you're very young, but I would like to know if you know the stories about the 80s
01:52and the magic comebacks in Bernabeu.
01:54Emilio was talking about one against Anderlecht, I think,
01:58where they won like 6-1 in their second leg or something like that.
02:01And I've seen the clips not long ago on TikTok.
02:04So, yeah, that's my source of education these days.
02:09So, no, yeah, I've seen a couple of those and obviously the ones in more recent times.
02:15So, yeah, it's something that you want to be a part of.
02:17It's something that, you know, you want to add to the history of this club.
02:20There's not a lot you can do for Real Madrid in the Champions League that hasn't already been done.
02:25And tomorrow is an opportunity for us to do something that hasn't been done for the first time.
02:29And that's really important to us.
02:34Hello, Jude. Juanma Sánchez for Radio Nacional.
02:37So, this year during some games, you've been arguing a little bit, for example,
02:42you've been issues at some games where it's normal with the great tension that you have because of some results.
02:47I don't know if maybe the team is us together, as last year, that you were much better.
02:55You only lost two games.
02:57And mentally speaking, you are strong enough in order to get the comeback tomorrow.
03:03I think the first thing you mentioned, yeah, it's football.
03:09It's very normal that on the pitch, you know, there's so much at stake that emotions get a bit high
03:15and you communicate with your teammates louder than you would communicate with your mum or your dad or your wife or something like that.
03:22So, yeah, we have a very different relationship with your teammates.
03:26There has to be that level of honesty, that level of ruthlessness with each other.
03:30So, yeah, you guys highlight that more than anything.
03:34I think for every one of those, you see, there's probably 20 of the positive interactions.
03:39And I think that's obviously will get lost in the whole media world of it, which is fine.
03:44As long as the team respect each other enough to have those honest conversations, that's really important.
03:49And then, yeah, as far as being mentally strong enough, we believe so.
03:53You know, I think you can't come into a game like this thinking there's going to be anything other than a comeback.
04:00That's the way we're thinking about the game.
04:03We're ready.
04:05We're excited.
04:06And we're looking forward to it.
04:07During this season, you haven't had as good games as the one that you have to play tomorrow in order to come back.
04:22So, in the pitch, what do we have to see of Real Madrid so that this comeback is possible?
04:29Well, a lot better than we saw in the first league, that's for sure.
04:34A higher commitment, a better understanding of what the game requires, more clean with the ball, better on transition.
04:42There's a multitude of things.
04:43And I think there probably wasn't one aspect of our game that was up to the standard that we expect from ourselves.
04:49And we're not afraid to say something like that.
04:52It's very normal that when you lose a game, you review the game, honestly.
04:55We know we can play a lot better.
04:56We know we can do a lot of things a lot better.
04:58And that's what we want to show tomorrow.
05:00It's one thing to lose, but it's another thing to not learn.
05:04And that's something that we'll have had done for tomorrow.
05:12Hi, Jude.
05:13Alex Howell, BBC.
05:14What's it like being part of a team where people near enough expect these comebacks from you?
05:21Yeah, I think it's...
05:22I did say that to someone the other day where it's a weird environment at the minute.
05:26The last few days, it's like one of the worst results we could possibly imagine away.
05:32And for some reason, everyone thinks it's nailed on that we'll come back.
05:35And it's a nice feeling, I have to say.
05:37It means there's a lot of trust in the talent.
05:39It means that you're at a club that's unlike no other, the best in the world.
05:43That's what it represents and signifies to me.
05:46So, yeah, there's a pressure that comes along with that for sure.
05:49And we'll want to deliver on what everyone thinks, that we can come back.
05:53And that's obviously the goal for us.
05:55But, yeah, there is a pressure about it.
05:56And that's what it's all about, isn't it?
05:58Hi, Jude.
06:05Yoel for Marca, a newspaper.
06:08So, it's quite usual that after Real Madrid losing some games, the data are analyzed.
06:13And after the last game against Arsenal, data said that you run 14 kilometers less than your rival.
06:19But the truth is that this thing happened last season and you end up by winning the Champions League.
06:24So, do you speak about this in the changing room and how important it is to run more than your rival tomorrow?
06:31Give yourself a better chance if you run more.
06:33You match the running stats of the other team.
06:37I think 14 kilometers, you said there, that's the equivalent to one player and a bit more.
06:43So, I think if you think about it logically, of course, it makes an impact on the game.
06:46It means that you can't get out to certain areas quick enough and etc.
06:50I probably don't have to explain that.
06:52But, yeah, like I said, last year was similar where we didn't always run the most, but we were in an organized position.
06:59So, there is an element of knowing where to run and what spaces to cover.
07:02And that doesn't kind of involve running around like a headless chicken.
07:05So, it's about finding the balance between running a lot and knowing where to run.
07:10Yeah, there's probably a mix of both that we didn't do well at the Emirates.
07:14So, yeah, tomorrow I'm sure there'll be everyone willing to run much more than we did last week.
07:20And hopefully we have a better plan in doing that as well.
07:22Hey Jude, Marcos Benito for El Chiringuito.
07:29In the last days, we've seen, especially in some media, some players in England that are saying that they're starting to be a little bit afraid or they're respecting their possible comeback.
07:40So, are you guessing this information?
07:42Afraid or that they're afraid, sorry?
07:46That England's afraid?
07:47The England's are afraid.
07:48Yeah, the English ones are afraid in England, yeah.
07:51Sorry.
07:52Translate.
07:52It was a bit quiet.
07:53I don't know how to turn it up.
07:54Yeah, I think, yeah, I think like the previous question, there's an expectation from Real Madrid that when we get into these kind of holes that we can come back,
08:04even if it's a really, really tough one and a really difficult one.
08:07I think probably in England it's not as common, although it has happened as well.
08:11I think Liverpool did it a couple of years back before they got to the final or something like that or they won it.
08:17So, yeah, it's just because the club have done it so many times and that's what's so impressive about the size of this club and, yeah, the expectations are obviously huge.
08:29Hi Jude, Ivan Martin for OK Diario.
08:32So supporters started to believe maybe last Wednesday after you lost the game.
08:39I would like to ask you, when did you start to believe in this comeback?
08:44Yeah, we, after the game, it's normally really tough.
08:48You have the kind of few moments after you've got to do the press, you're sitting around on your own where, you know,
08:54you do think that it's probably, it's going to be difficult, it's going to be tough and then the more you get speaking to the other lads and you see how confident they are,
09:01the more it kind of rubs off on you.
09:03The lads that have experienced these kind of nights before, it rubs off.
09:07Like I said before, it's infectious and, you know, it makes you a lot more confident, a lot more comfortable with the situation you're in,
09:14about the people you're going into the situation you're in.
09:17And so, yeah, for us, it was pretty much immediate.
09:21By the time we was back on the coach, we was all, not in good spirits, obviously,
09:26but realised that we could still be in the competition.
09:33Mesh from Sky Sports.
09:37You've said after that game that the tie's not over.
09:40And you've kind of answered it a little bit there.
09:42But what gives you that real belief that this comeback is on?
09:46And a second part of that question, did Arsenal surprise you guys last week?
09:53I think what makes us confident is the quality we have, the history of the club,
09:58the fans that will turn up and give everything on the night,
10:02the aura of the Bernabeu in these Champions League nights.
10:05That's always something.
10:07I think we still felt like even though we played probably as bad as we possibly could in a game like that,
10:12we still had chances, weirdly, and still had moments where we felt like we could have capitalised a bit more.
10:18And normally when you have your worst games, you feel like you're absolutely miles off it
10:22and there's no way you can get in the game.
10:24And still we had a few chances where it felt like maybe if we just increased our level
10:28and was a bit more attentive to a few things that they did really well, we can be in it.
10:32You know, I think we're not stupid, but also we're confident in the ability we have.
10:38And the second part was about...
10:41What was that, sorry?
10:43Oh yeah, not really, no.
10:45We know the quality they had.
10:46I think the free kicks were surprising.
10:48I've not seen Deke do that before, to be fair.
10:50I knew he could take set-pieces really well, the corners and stuff,
10:53but I'd never seen him do that with the free kicks.
10:55So fair play to him.
10:57That was probably the only thing, though, really.
10:58We knew they're a really good team.
11:00We knew that they have a really good manager.
11:02They're going to be organised.
11:03And yeah, there was a lot of things that were really impressive for them,
11:06but nothing that we didn't expect.
11:07They were a top-level team.
11:09Last two questions.
11:11Last two questions.
11:12Hello.
11:13Here on your right, David Alvarez, or El Pais.
11:16So, if we leave aside history and the comebacks, the feelings, etc.,
11:23and going back to football,
11:26with the games that you've played during this year,
11:29with the way of playing that you've had during this year,
11:33do you think that you have enough in order to win this playoff?
11:38Or maybe there's something else that you have not been able to show
11:42that is about to emerge and maybe it would be necessary.
11:46And what would that be?
11:48Obviously, like you said, we've had games where we've been a bit underwhelming
11:51and still found ways to win.
11:53There's positive aspects that you can take from that.
11:56I mean, we beat City 3-1 at home, beat them away from home as well.
12:01So, you know, I think, like I said before,
12:04the kind of negative things and the games where we're not as good
12:07are always going to take a bit more of the spotlight and the attention,
12:10whereas when we win, it's always, well, they're expected to do that.
12:13So why is that a big deal?
12:15Why is that not a big story?
12:16And I do understand and I agree.
12:18But like I said, we've definitely shown moments in some games this year
12:21that we can be capable of doing something special,
12:24regardless of the underwhelming moments.
12:26And, you know, I've got to sit here and be confident in the team,
12:30the changing room I've got down there.
12:31And that's got nothing to do with history.
12:34That's to do with the lads that I see every single day,
12:36working hard every single day,
12:38showing the right face every single day,
12:40regardless of the adversity we faced last week in London.
12:42So that's why I'm confident.
12:44Not so much history.
12:46History is one thing also, but that's what I see every day
12:49and I know that we can do it.
12:51Last question.
12:53Hi, Jude.
12:54Miguel Ángel Torribio live for Radio Marca.
12:57So last time you won by two goals,
13:00it was last 23rd of February.
13:04People that think,
13:05how are they going to win by three or by four goals
13:09if you've been for a couple of months just winning by one when you win?
13:14So what would you tell these people?
13:16I think we've played some games this year.
13:21Like I said, we've been underwhelming in some games,
13:24but we've found ways to win.
13:25You're saying that we've only won by one goal,
13:27but that's probably what was required on that night
13:31and that given day,
13:32in that given stadium,
13:35against that given opposition,
13:37that was what was required.
13:38And obviously we're required to score goals tomorrow.
13:41And we've got to try and live up to that
13:42and expect that kind of,
13:44that level from ourselves.
13:46But, you know,
13:47worrying about if we've scored more than one goal
13:50in the last few months
13:51and can we do it again,
13:53that's not a concern of mine.
13:54These nights are different
13:55and hopefully we can show that tomorrow.
13:59Have a good evening.