The Argentine striker believes that 'El Glorioso' must make the most of their opponent's current poor run of form; he stressed that his side must play in the best way that they know how, as well as treating the high-quality Madrid players "as equals", if they want to take a positive result from the contest.

"Real Madrid can replace Cristiano with a number of good players, however a player of his authority and dominion is what their dressing room badly needs" said the Buenos Aires-born player after being asked for his opinion on the absence of the Portuguese icon.

The five time Ballon d'Or winner left 'Los Blancos' for Juventus in the summer, and despite a brilliant opening to the season, they have struggled for results in the few tricky fixtures that they have encountered so far.

In such matches, Ronaldo was Madrid's get out of jail card. The Portuguese always produced when it really mattered during his time in Madrid; he scored 44 goals in all competitions last season, 15 of which came in the Champions League as Madrid won a record third consecutive title.

In respect to the clash with Julen Lopetegui's side; Calleri has recognised that Alavés have "the desire to make things right" after their defeat away in Valencia against Levante, of which he has disputed claims that the result was the "shock of the season", as his side " lacked intensity and a will to win".

Calleri was also quizzed on his team's current position in the La Liga standings; Alavés sit sixth, three points behind joint leaders Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The striker reiterated that the team's aim is to "retain their top flight status", and that they must "remain realistic despite their excellent position" that they currently hold in the League table.

Jonathan Calleri has scored two goals so far for Deportivo Alavés this season, and although he admits that as a footballer you always hope to score against the big teams, he insisted that he would rather the team win the game over scoring a goal himself.

"It is not important in my opinion, everyone has to do their bit, and the most important thing here is the team", said Calleri, in reference to the offensive insults that he received in the Basque capital last month, as he tries to adapt to the team, after not having played a "consistent run" of games for some time.

" We know what was missing against Levante, and we will try to rectify these problems against Madrid." assured the South American, for whom "it is an extra bit of motivation playing these such teams; it is an opportunity to show off and to demonstrate to the World that Alavés can match any rival."

The "Babazorro" has expressed that the team have to attack in the same way as they do in other games when they face Madrid, and must not change their approach solely in order to show respect to their rivals.

Calleri scored all five of the penalties awarded to UD Las Palmas last season, and although he has asserted his willingness to "take the responsability" for new club Alavés; has stressed that "there is no designated set-piece taker", but the team should instead opt with the player who is "in the best form and is at the peak of confidence". At the same time, the Buenos Aires native Calleri has downplayed the missed penalty from Ibai Gomez against Getafe.

For Calleri, the conductors of any Real Madrid performance are Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, and so pressing them and stopping them from playing their usual game, could be the ticket to a positive result for Alavés on Saturday.

J. Calleri

Personal Data

Career Info

Career Totals