Madrid, Jan 26 (IANS) Real Madrid's La Liga match at home to Getafe Sunday looks like it is going to take on a significant way beyond what could have been expected.
It has been another traumatic week for the club, despite a 5-0 win in Valencia last weekend and qualification for the semifinals of the Copa del Rey, also against Valencia, reports Xinhua.
Thursday saw Spanish sports paper Marca break a story that club captains Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos held a meeting with club president Florentino Perez in which they said that if coach Jose Mourinho didn't leave the club at the end of the season, they and several other players would hand in transfer requests.
Perez called a press conference to deny this happened while the players in question have also said they didn't give Perez an ultimatum but the fact that Madrid have not announced any legal action against the paper leads many to suspect that in this case, there is no smoke without at least some fire.
Casillas will miss Sunday's game after breaking a bone in his left hand which will sideline him for two months and Friday saw the club move quickly to cover his absence by re-signing Diego Lopez from Sevilla.
Lopez could be put directly into the side or Antonio Adan, who has long been Casillas' understudy, will return in goal and it will be interesting to see if Mourinho keeps faith in Adan, who he had chosen ahead of Casillas on two occasions at the start of the month.
Ramos is, however, available after serving a four game ban and people will also be keen to see if Mourinho picks him especially as he is suspended for the following Wednesday when Madrid entertain Barcelona in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal.
Should Ramos not play, it would look like a punishment for the Spain international and only serve to fan the flames and keep the rumour mill about bad feeling in the club ticking over.
Saying that, central defenders Ricardo Carvalho and Rafael Varene have done exceptionally well in the absence of Ramos and the injured Pepe and Mourinho could stick with them.
With the Madrid coach admitting this week his side have no chance of winning the league and saying his side needs to concentrate on the Copa del Rey and Champions League, Sunday could see other players reserved for the Barca tie, giving a chance to others such as Jose Callejon, Nacho Gonzalez, Luka and Modric, who has so far disappointed in his first season in Spain.
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