From left, Real Madrid's Angel Di Maria from Argentina, Karim Benzema from France, Essien from Ghana, Mesut Ozil from Germany, Kaka from Brazil and Fabio Coentrao of Portugal laugh during a training session at the Valdebebas stadium on the eve of a Champions League Group D soccer match against Manchester City, in Madrid, Monday, Sept. 17, 2012 (Photo: AP)
Ghana and Real Madrid midfielder Michael Essien believes that the Spanish giants will recover and fight for the La Liga title this season.
The club suffered a difficult start to the season, and they currently lie sixth in the league table with 10 points, eight points behind rivals and leaders Barcelona.
Essien, who won two Premier League titles, four FA Cups and one Champions League at Chelsea, is on loan to Real Madrid until the end of the season, and he is sure his spell with the league title holders will be a successful one.
“We are talking about Real Madrid, the greatest club in the world. Every player would want to be here. I’m just Michael Essien and eventually I hope everyone will know me here,” Essien was quoted as saying by Ghanasoccernet on Monday.
“It was a difficult start, but sometimes you see yourself in this situation. We have won two straight games and hopefully we can extend the streak it to three.
“Every game is important, and we need to earn the right to get more points and fight for the title,” the 29-year old added.
The Ghanaian star missed Real Madrid's 5-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna on the sixth match day of the season on Sunday because of a minor injury, but he said he would be available for the Champions League game in midweek.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports).
Short link: