Mourinho and Madrid roused for Galatasaray visit

Wednesday's UEFA Champions League quarter-final meeting of Real Madrid CF and Galatasaray AŞ brings together several past acquaintances; not only are José Mourinho and Fatih Terim old friends but the Madrid coach has also enjoyed considerable success with players in the opposing ranks. While Mourinho does not expect his team to be short of motivation, Terim is urging Galatasaray to "overcome their limits" once again.

Madrid
José Mourinho, coach
It is important we score the goals to win this game, and who does that is not important. When you have great players you always expect big things of them. If you look at the United game, [Gonzalo] Higuaín did not score but he played a great game which is what is important – that the players do well for the team.

We have our objectives for tomorrow but so do they. I want to win, they want to win. [Wesley] Sneijder and [Didier] Drogba have been important players for me in the past but tomorrow they will be my friends, not players in my team. Drogba was a great player for me, a great friend and someone that will stay in my life forever. We created emotional links that go beyond football.

Galatasaray have a great coach with experience at this level and so he feels comfortable. He is not afraid of playing here. He has players who have played in the best teams in the world, players who are calm when it comes to the quarter-finals of this competition. Drogba, Sneijder and Burak [Yılmaz] could play for any team in the world.

There is no bigger motivation than getting to a semi-final; the only motivation that beats it is to get to the final. We know the history of Madrid in this competition. We also know that recently Madrid have not had so much success. I do not see my team better [or worse] than last year. There were very few things we could have improved on after going out in the semi-finals last season. We are arriving with no players injured, everyone fit.

I do not like talking about favourites at this stage of the tournament. When I got here with Porto and Inter they were not favourites and they won it. With Madrid, we got here before and did not win it. It is difficult for me to talk about favourites for that reason.

Weekend result
Saturday: Real Zaragoza 1-1 Real Madrid CF (Rodri 6; Ronaldo 38)
Diego López; Arbeloa (Özil 60), Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo; Essien, Modrić, Callejón (Di María 60), Kaká (Khedira 60), Ronaldo; Higuaín.

• Madrid remain second in the Spanish standings – 13 points behind FC Barcelona – after failing to win for the first time in seven Liga games.

Team news
Raphaël Varane (back) and Fábio Coentrão (muscular problems) missed out at the weekend. Iker Casillas has yet to re-enter Mourinho's plans despite receiving the medical all-clear following the broken thumb he suffered in January.

©Getty Images

We will have a great game regardless of the result. We are not worried; we will do our best. I hope we play two great games. Madrid at home are very effective. They have achieved great success in this stadium. They have one of the most dangerous and powerful players in the world: Ronaldo.

We have got the most difficult opponents available. This is not an excuse though. If I were the coach of any of the other seven teams I would also have asked to be drawn against Galatasaray. Yet we must look at what we have done in this competition up until now.

I trust in my team and in my players. We came from a group including Manchester United and then knocked out Schalke so we've fought very hard and will continue to do that. We know what we are capable of.

We are looking at what we can do against Madrid. We are going to run and to try to play an attractive game. Madrid play the same way home and away – we can call it the Real Madrid level – and both matches will be difficult.

We have never given up before a game and we have achieved significant results with this attitude. We want to go back to Istanbul with an advantage. These kind of games are open to all possibilities. If we lose it wouldn't be a surprise but if we win it would be.

We are going there with the idea of pushing every limit. I have never told my players that one goal is enough. I always tell them to overcome their limits, to keep on growing. We have knocked out big teams. Our players have already tasted victory. They know what it will take to qualify for the next round but if we lose we will have done so against very respected opponents.

Weekend result
Saturday: Galatasaray 2-0 İstanbul BB SK (Burak 23 35)
Muslera; Eboué, Nounkeu, Semih Kaya, Balta (Amrabat 84); Hamit Altıntop, Felipe Melo (Sabri Sarıoğlu 78), Selçuk İnan; Sneijder (Riera 60); Burak, Drogba.

• Two Burak Yılmaz goals – taking his tally to 13 in his last 11 outings for club and country – earned the points for the Turkish Super League leaders, as Terim returned to the dugout after a three-match domestic touchline ban.

Team news
Engin Baytar and Aydın Yılmaz have not travelled to Spain, but Johan Elmander is in the squad as he steps up his recovery from the foot problem which has sidelined the forward since early February.

Match fact
This tie is all about the number 24. Madrid are aiming for a record 24th semi-final in Europe's top club competition while it is 24 years since Galatasaray got to the last four of the European Cup.