Cicinho Revolts Against Schuster, Threatens To Leave

Cicinho has not taken kindly to being palyed out of position, and threatened to leave the club if that continues to be the case.

After only the first match of the season, Bernd Schuster has dissent in his ranks to deal with.

The coach dropped his first hints regarding his plans for the season in yesterday's friendly against Stoke City, and Cicinho feels he is on the wrong end, literally.

While the first half of the 2-0 win saw Sergio Ramos on the right and Miguel Torres on the left, the second was conspicuous for Cicinho finding himself on the left, with Salgado playing in "his" position.

The player has previously dismissed speculation linking him with a move away, particularly to Roma, insisting he wants to stay and prove his worth, but seemed very irked after the game, irked enough to threaten to leave.

"I am not confortable on the left and would like to play in my position," he said on Spanish radio.

"I want to play at right back, and if that is not the case, I will find myself another club, because I do not see myself playing there [on the left] all year."

He insisted that he still wanted to stay at Madrid, but only if he was wanted for what he has to offer. The Brazilian warned that offers from other clubs were most certainly not a problem.

"My desire is to continue here, but only if it makes me happy," he quipped. "I have several offers on the table, and we will see what happens.

"It is certain that there are problems playing on the left, and that Schuster has asked me to paly there. My will is to play in my position."

Whether Dchuster handles this with kid gloves or an iron hand will tell us plenty about what will happen at Madrid over the coming 12 months. What is certain is that the gauntlet has been thrown to his man managing skills.