Very easy for Kaka as Real parade new Galacticos

MADRID: Real Madrid's Brazilian signing Kaka said he finds it "very easy" playing alongside the other new world stars at the club.

"It's very easy to play in a team with people of such quality around," he said following his Spanish debut with the side, a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad in a pre-season friendly on Saturday.

He had special praise for another of Real's "new Galaticos", Spain international Xabi Alonso, signed from Liverpool this month.

"Xabi Alonso has brought us a lot of security and fluidity. Now the most important thing is to look for balance and we are getting that," the Spanish sporting press quoted him as saying.

"We understand each other and I believe we can do great things together. I have noticed that the team gain possession with Xabi Alonso and that is very important," said the midfielder, signed from AC Milan for E65 million (RM325 million) in June.

Another big new signing, Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile said he thinks the team, who went on a pre-season tour of the US, is close to reaching the level that fans are expecting of it.

"We are continuing to work hard to reach the form that we want, but I know that it will not be very difficult to reach this level in a short space of time," the Portuguese striker said.

Real face Borussia Dortmund in a friendly in Germany today, before the start of the Spanish league season at the end of the month.

Real president Florentino Perez has splashed out over E250 million on the likes of Kaka, Alonso, Ronaldo, and Karim Benzema since he returned to the club in June in a bid to make the nine-time European champions a formidable force again.

Perez led Real from 2000 to 2006, when they earned the nickname 'Los Galacticos', with such stars as Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and David Beckham. But while the club enjoyed the success of two domestic league titles and one Champions League, between 2003 and 2006 they did not win a single major trophy, and fears have been expressed that their glamorous new stars may also fail to deliver this season. -- AFP