Sneijder predicts super season for Real Madrid

Sep 5, 2007 - 10:26 AM MADRID, Spain (Ticker) -- Man of the moment Wesley Sneijder has pledged to make this a season to remember for Real Madrid fans.

Sneijder has been a huge hit in the first two games of the Premier League season, scoring three times in the victories over Atletico Madrid and Villarreal to help Real to the top of the standings.

The current feeling of euphoria around the Bernabeu is a far cry from only a few weeks ago when the reigning Spanish champions were under the spotlight following a poor preseason which saw them lose six of their 10 matches.

But the mood is considerably different now, with Real not only winning but also producing exciting attacking soccer, and Sneijder - one of eight summer signings to join Real this summer following his big-money move from Ajax - is predicting good times ahead for the club's supporters.

"Our followers are going to enjoy this year with the team," he said. "We need to win, but the objective of everyone is to play nice football. I like to make the fans at the Bernabeu enjoy the games.

The Dutchman believes his two performances against Atletico and Villarreal are proof that he has now settled in at his new club.

"Now I feel perfect. I am very well. I know that I can improve, but I feel very well," he said. "It is natural that I want to improve in each game, but I try to fight to the best of my abilities and always help my team-mates. In the last two games I have done much better."

Sneijder's first goal of the season was his 80th-minute winner against Atletico on the opening day, when Real bounced back from an early deficit to down their local rivals 2-1.

That instantly awarded Sneijder hero status among the Madridistas, but he went one better in the second round of action, scoring twice in Real's remarkable 5-0 win over a Villarreal side that had won their nine previous league games.

Sneijder played down his early-season success though.

"I have had a lot of luck. It is very nice to score three goals in two games, it is fantastic, but what I have to do is score more in the following games and not remain on these three goals. ... We have had only two games and things are going well because we have obtained two victories and the fans are happy with our football.

"However, we need to be calm and continue working because this is only the start, although personally I cannot complain about how things are going. It is very soon in the season, but also it is good to be the leaders because it gives us confidence. Now it is important to maintain that position until the end."

The 23-year-old midfielder has inherited David Beckham's number 23 shirt at Real following the Englishman's move to America this summer.

Sneijder, with his dead-ball expertise and superb range of passing and shooting, has been likened to the former Manchester United ace, but the Holland international insists he wants to be seen as his his own man.

"I don't like these things because I don't like to be compared with other players," he said. "He has his qualities, I have mine and we are different players."