Football
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Sergio Ramos: Real Madrid as motivated as two years ago

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos says his team will be no less motivated than a revenge-seeking Atletico Madrid side in Saturday's Champions League final in Milan.

Much of the build-up to this year's final has focused on the UCL decider two years ago in Lisbon, when Atletico seemed set to lift their first European Cup trophy, only for Ramos to equalise in the 93rd minute and his team to then ease to a 4-1 victory in extra time.

Diego Simeone's side have carefully played down any idea that they will be out for revenge in San Siro on Saturday night, but Colchoneros skipper Gabi did suggest on Friday that it would be extra special to beat their Spanish capital neighbours this time around.

Asked about this feeling at the official UEFA news conference before Madrid's eve of game training session, the Blancos skipper said he was impressed at how Atletico had picked themselves up and got back to another final, but his side would be just as up for the game and wanted to win the trophy equally as much.

"They will have a bad taste from before, but they did not just lie injured on the ground," Ramos said. "They came back fighting, looking for new opportunities. There is pressure in all finals, you must know how to manage it, and we will try and do that as much as possible. We're not less motivated [than them] just because we won two years ago. We're up for this, we want to win it, we have the same hunger again."

Ramos said he would not change anything about how the 2014 final had gone, however he did not expect the drama to unfold again in the same way.

"I would not change anything -- things had to go that way," he said. "We've moved on and do not like to think of them when now we are in front of another final. If you were writing a film you would have set it out like that, but this is another final, a different game."

The Spain centre-back said that he and his teammates would need to be on their guard throughout the entirety of the game, but they were prepared to work hard and suffer in accordance with coach Zinedine Zidane's game plan.

"Atletico are a team who can punish any moment of lack of concentration," he said. "At set-pieces, in open play at any moment. We have to be aware of that. We have worked to be here, have suffered together, and hopefully we get our rewards. We know what Zizou wants now. We must go out and do that. We must attack and defend as a team, suffer together as we have done in recent months."

Atletico have at times out-run and out-fought Madrid through recent derbies, with even Zidane saying after their most recent meeting -- a 1-0 Atletico win at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in La Liga in February -- that his team had not given enough out on the pitch.

Ramos rejected a suggestion that Madrid's pampered superstars do not put in the same effort as Atletico's working-class heroes.

"We do not agree with that of course -- although the opinion of everyone is respectable," he said. "We will not get into that. They have given everything to get here, we have too. We have our objectives, one above all, and we are just one step away now. We will give everything to get it."

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