Quesada says Real Madrid would have more titles without Barça

“If we hadn’t come up against Barça, we would have more titles,” Quesada said. The Real Madrid women’s coach made the remark after his team drew with Bayern in Munich, where Madrid let a two-goal lead slip. He also praised his players’ performance in Germany.

Real Madrid had moved ahead to 0-2 through goals from Athenea and Beerensteyn. Bayern responded with goals from Edna Imade, the Spanish player, and Tanikawa, who scored in the second half. Quesada was pleased with the point his side earned, while noting that they could even have won: Madrid still led 0-2 in the 22nd minute before Bayern came back.

The coach believes his squad has the quality to compete in other leagues. “If we had played in England, we would have won the English league. If we had played in Germany, I think we would have won the German league,” he said. He described Barça as the benchmark that makes it harder for his team to claim a first title: the Catalan club dominates Spanish competitions and has also won titles in Europe.

Quesada urged his players to use that gap as motivation. “We have to see it as something that means we need to raise our standards,” he said of Barça’s presence. He also compared Real’s situation with that of PSG, saying that club faces a similar difficulty in its league when up against PSG.

Asked whether Barça was Real Madrid’s main opponent, Quesada called it the toughest rival for any team it faces, pointing to a well-established structure and a squad that has played together for a long time. He nevertheless said his team could beat Barça and would do so this season, referring to the league return match. Real had lost the first leg in Barcelona 7-1.