So Real Madrid will try and recover after that opening leg loss to Wolfsburg, who completely outplayed Los Blancos. And Zinedine Zidane hopes a change in venue, will also mean a change of fortune for his Spanish club.

Down but not out. Real Madrid was stunned 2-0 in the first leg of the Champions League quarter final against Germany’s Wolfsburg. But coach Zinedine Zidane remains optimistic and he believes his side can still turn things around in front a home crowd of a feverish 80-thousand fans.

"It’s an important match we know that. The fans know that. That is crystal clear. But to play this game, we have to have cool heads. We are not going to win the match in the first 15 minutes no matter what happens," Zinedine said.

Without a crucial away goal, Real also knows it cannot just throw caution to the wind. Just one away goal for Wolfsburg would leave Madrid requiring four goals to keep going.

"It will be important to start well, to play our game and be patient from the beginning. We know that it will be a challenge for us, but we need to play our game. And to play football like we know. We cannot allow many mistakes. We have to concentrate from the first minute," Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric said.

It promises to be a tense evening ahead for Real Madrid. If they don’t win, it could lead to some significant soul searching and pose some difficult questions for the coach and the players.

"It would be disastrous if Real Madrid goes out at this stage and for Zinedine Zidane as well. He’s only been in the job for three months. But we all know the pressure at Real Madrid. He really, really needs to get through this one," Spanish football journalist Ben Hayward said.

As for Wolfsburg, the German side appeared relaxed at the Bernabeu. But they know it will be an altogether different atmosphere come kick off…

"We will have the same attitude as we did in our previous games against Moscow and Manchester United. We will see if something special is going to happen. The Champions League is nothing new for us. We know what to expect. I think we will play well," Wolfsburg coach Dieter Heching said.

This is the first time Wolfsburg has reached the knockout stage of this competition. But if the German team knocks the 10-time winners out, football fans on both sides admit it would be an impressive achievement.