Reaction to Real Madrid Friendly

LA Galaxy Head Coach Bruce Arena
On the result:
“The performance put on by Ronaldo and Higuain in the second half was something special. Excellent team, certainly in a game like this when we make a change, as do they, my guess is they are going to be a little bit stronger in putting out another eleven players in the second half. But, you know, our motivation in the game is to put on a good show and to allow people in our league to see Real Madrid. The result is not that important as much as putting on a good exhibition and allowing fans to enjoy themselves. And, from our end, we’re happy to be able to recognize Clint’s contributions in MLS and US Soccer as well. So, we think it was a home run for everyone involved.”

LA Galaxy Forward Edson Buddle
On the game:
“They played most of their starting guys in the second half. They found themselves 2-0 down, and it helped them push the game a little bit and in preseason, you want to do that. You want to push your players and prepare them for their season. The fans probably got a lot out of that.”

On how he feels physically:
“I feel a little bit knackered , but I have deal with it. I have never played this many games back-to-back, but I am enjoying it.”

On the upcoming friendly against Brazil:
“Yes I am [excited]. Especially against a quality team like Brazil, the hosts of the next World Cup, and being at home.”

LA Galaxy Forward Landon Donovan:
On what it feels like to play in front of a crowd of 90,000:
“Awesome. You expect with a team like Real Madrid that they are going to have a lot of fans all around the world. It was a great night for us. We got off to a good start, and I think, all and all, everyone is happy.”

On scoring:
“It was great. Omar did a good job on the first goal to get a header down, and Todd scrapped the ball in. To get a second goal, I think we felt good about how we did. Obviously making some changes, it kind of mixes the game up and they put a little bit of a better team on the field in the second half. But all and all, I think Bruce will be happy. We are happy, and it was a good night for everyone.”

On next week’s game vs. Red Bulls:
“It’s a massive game. This is what the league has always wanted, a strong LA team and a strong New York team. For us, it has been a little bit of a rough stretch lately, so we want to get back to what we are good at doing. Tonight was a good start. In the first half we were really organized and played well. Now, with Marquez, Henry, and Pablo, it is going to be a lot of fun. A new stadium there in New York, it is going to be a great game.”

LA Galaxy Midfielder Clint Mathis:
On his final game:
"It was a great opportunity for me to finish my career with the same team and in the same stadium where I started. It was an emotional day."

LA Galaxy Midfielder Michael Stephens
On Playing Real Madrid:
“It was a great experience playing guys of their caliber to help you gauge yourself against the highest. Anything you do you want to be able to see how you match up against the best. It shows how much there is to improve.”

On the team’s performance:
“In general we had a good first half. Obviously coming out in the second half and giving up an early goal wasn’t the best. In general I was proud of how we played.”

LA Galaxy Defender Omar Gonzalez
On Playing Real Madrid:
I thought it was pretty fun. I thought that I played pretty well in the first half. I got the assist on the first goal of ours. Having fun out there was a main priority for me. In the second half they brought on their second team or their first team I really don’t know how you put it. They were just flying in the second half. It was amazing to see them play at that speed.”

On his performance:
“For me it was just seeing what it is like at that different level and knowing that maybe I can get there one day. I think that it was a big confidence booster for me and I really enjoyed playing.”

LA Galaxy Midfielder Juninho
On playing Real Madid:
“It the greatest experience of my career.”

On the foul that led to the penalty:
“I was behind (Drenthe) and he kicked me in the chest. We traded jerseys at the end of the game and he apologized for kicking me.”

LA Galaxy Defender Gregg Berhalter
On Real Madrid’s first goal:
“It was a good early ball by Cristiano Ronaldo. I was expecting him to take a touch but he played a good ball between me and the goal keeper. It was perfectly timed and [Gonzalo] Higuain got in and tapped it in.”

On the second half:
“You can tell the coach said something to them at half time and said we have to go out and take this more seriously and lets get after them and that is exactly what they did. We lost a little bit of shape. They were gunning it in the second half. They didn’t want to get embarrassed. A lot of their first team was in the second half. They had quality through out the last half. If you look at both elevens you would take both of those elevens any day. It was good experience.”

On the first half:
“We were excited. We thought we played well in the first half obviously to go up two nothing. We knew we were making some changes in the start of second half. We wanted to keep the pressure on and keep playing.”

On Clint Mathis:
“I was happy for him. I was sad for him. He was great to be part of this game because he has meant a lot for US soccer. He has been here for a while and he has been a great player in the history of US soccer.”

On the Galaxy’s string of loses:
“I wouldn’t look too much into this game. It is not an easy game to win. I you look at the quality and to have them have eleven fresh players to start the second half they obviously have the depth and they are the better team. They won that game. Our focus now is getting back on track in the league and that is what our goal is.”

Real Madrid Head Coach Jose Mourinho
On his goals for the tour and if they were met:
“For this trip, everything was perfect. We trained well, we trained hard, the players were together 24 hours and the environment was perfect for them to grow as a group. Tactically we cannot be perfect, very far from it, but I can see some principles in training sessions and they are growing step by step, so it was perfect.”

Real Madrid Director of Football Emiliano Butragueno
On the United States becoming a regular preseason destination:
“We have had a good stay here in Los Angeles and the experience has been very positive. It’s far from Madrid to come here regularly [Los Angeles] but we have been very impressed and have good memories here.”

Real Madrid Defender Raul Albiol
On the difference between the two halves:
“The game definitely had two halves to it. Unfortunately in the first-half we ended up down by two goals and went into the break losing. We reorganized during the break and ended up winning the game.”

On coming back from injury:
“We started our pre-season training last week and after the injury that I picked up with the national team, I feel good. My ankle feels a lot better and little by little it’s getting better but I’m still not one-hundred percent.”

On Real Madrid Coach Jose Mourinho:
“He’s very intense and demanding of the players and we are all trying to work hard because we are starting this season with a lot of pressure so we all have to work together to end the season with titles.”

On winning the World Cup with Spain:
“It was a dream for all of us but now we have a new season ahead of us and we need to focus on our club teams because we have a lot of responsibility.”

Real Madrid Midfielder Pedro Leon
On the game:
“We went down by two [goals] and were able to turn the game around and we are very pleased with the victory. The team responded well to turn a potentially negative result into a positive result and we leave here on a positive note.”

Real Madrid Forward Gonzalo Higuain
On the game:
“We have only been together [as a team] in pre-season training for a few days and some players are at a higher level than others but in the end we are a team and we win and lose together. We were able to win the game, despite the score-line after the first-half. We wanted to improve and win the game in the second-half and I believe we showed improvement and the end result speaks for itself.”