Goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek wants to leave Real Madrid in the January
transfer window in search of regular first team action for the rest
of the season so he can win a place in the Polish national team for
Euro 2008.
"I've got a three-year contract with Real Madrid but I want to
look at the possibility of leaving," the 34-year-old told Spanish
sports daily Marca yesterday.
"Poland have qualified for the European championship for the
first time and I have received an important call from the coach Leo
Beenhakker who told me that if I played regularly I would be his
keeper at Euro 2008.
"I want to play at the European championship because it will be
a historic moment for our country and I haven't played at all in
Madrid. I think the best thing now is to talk."
Dudek joined Real as a free agent from Liverpool in the close
season to provide cover for first-choice keeper Iker Casillas but
he has yet to play for the club in either the Primera Liga or the
Champions League.
"I would like to leave," Dudek added. "If I were 26 I would
never leave Real Madrid even if I was second choice, but things
have changed with the call from Poland. I'm 34 and they have given
me hope of playing in an important tournament.
"I know I will only have a chance if I play regularly in the
next few months. Real have the final word."
Poland has been drawn alongside Germany, Croatia and joint hosts
Austria in Group B of Euro 2008.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily December 6, 2007)