Ronaldo never lets the team down – Marcelo

• Posted on November 21, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The Brazilian says the work off the ball of Real Madrid’s forwards encourages the rest of the side to work harder

Real Madrid defender Marcelo says Cristiano Ronaldo eagerness to defend from the front makes it easy to play alongside him.

The prolific attacker has already netted 18 goals in 10 La Liga appearances, yet Marcelo is pleased to see his success in front of goal does not stop him doing his part when Madrid do not have the ball.

“It is easy to play with Cristiano Ronaldo. He knows where he has to give you the ball and does it perfectly,” Marcelo told the official Madrid website.

“He helps the team out in defence and on top of that provides assists and great passes.

“The fact that [Karim] Benzema, Cristiano, Isco, [Gareth] Bale and James [Rodriguez] work in defence encourages the rest of us to work harder. It is easy for us to play with these stars: they score and set up goals.”

The Brazil international went on to highlight head coach Carlo Ancelotti’s role in Madrid’s success.

“Ancelotti has allowed us to enjoy the games and also to improvise. He knows we are very confident. We do everything for him, for all the help he has given us and for what he tells us in every game.

“He is a very easy-going person, who says everything to your face and that is key. I’m sure that even those who have played very little would say the same.

“He is a winner and he instils that humility and the desire to get started and do everything in order to win. We knew that we had to be extremely united in order to win something.”