Dutch Football - Spain - Champions League - Real Madrid - Van Nistelrooy and Pepe fit for Juventus clash

"The intellectualisation
of football has
always foundered
on a simple problem-
-the players. Doing
all your most
rewarding thinking
with your feet seems
to dull the philo-
sophical impulse.
Unless, of course,
you are Dutch.
According to legend,
Europeans played
a moronic, muscular
version of the world's
game, until Holland
proclaimed its vision
of total football in the
1974 World Cup,
and enlightenment
dawned."

From:
Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football

Van Nistelrooy and Pepe fit for Juventus clash

Iain Rogers
Reuters
Wednesday 05 November 2008

Striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and central defender Pepe have recovered from injury and are available for Real Madrid's Champions League Group H match against Juventus on Wednesday.

"We can call on them tomorrow," coach Bernd Schuster told a news conference on Tuesday.

"Ruud is feeling in really good shape and has no pain," Schuster said.

"But we are still not completely sure how we will do things. It will be a very hard match from the start so we don't know yet if he'll start or come on during the match."

The Dutchman injured his right knee against Juve in last month's 2-1 defeat in Turin and missed Sunday's 1-1 Primera Liga draw at Almeria.

Pepe suffered a knock on the thigh in Almeria and was substituted in the second half as a precaution.