Ronaldo desperate to face Juventus
 |  Ronaldo hopes to put his problems behind him and start against Juventus |
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MADRID, Spain -- Brazil star Ronaldo has pleaded for a starting slot in Real Madrid's Champions League first leg clash at home to Serie A giants Juventus on Tuesday.
Ronaldo was fined after twice arriving late for training last week and he also returned from a Valentine's Day celebration in France with a bruised big toe.
"These are the sort of games that I love playing in, and I hope people realise this," said the Ronaldo who was on the bench for the 2-0 weekend home defeat by Bilbao.
Coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo did not rule out Ronaldo starting in front of Michael Owen, but warned: "If there are any risks attached to Ronaldo playing, then he'll be staying at home."
He added: "The team doesn't depend exclusively on Ronaldo. If it did, then I would not have come here to be the Real Madrid coach. Ronaldo is just one more player in the squad."
Former Liverpool player Owen has started just two of Real's eight league games since Luxemburgo's arrival in December.
But Ronaldo finally acknowledged he has been out-of-form recently saying: "I've gone five league games without scoring but I've got a lot of motivation to find the net again.
"I am not in my best form physically because I've got problems with a big toe and that is worrying me a little. But I am hoping that the pain will disappear and I'll play."
Ronaldo's collection of honors is still without a Champions League winners' medal.
"It's a decisive game. We know that Juventus is a great team and is coming to the Bernabeu to win but we are not worried about them," he added.
"We only have to think about ourselves. Just because we lost on Saturday doesn't mean that Juve are arriving at a bad time. After all we've won seven out of our last eight games in the league.
"But we know we have to beat them otherwise the second leg will be very complicated."
Juventus are also going through a difficult patch, losing the No.1 spot and an eight-point advantage over AC Milan.
To add to their troubles, regular striker David Trezeguet will be sidelined with the flu, though Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved has been ruled fit.
"No doubt it's an unlucky, difficult period for us," said Juve coach Fabio Capello.
"We produce scoring chances but are unable to kick the ball in. I'm tranquil however, the team is physically strong. We are prepared to do well in Madrid."
