Carlo Ancelotti in The First Stickthe nightly sports program that Juanma Rodríguez directs and presents from Monday to Friday on esRadio. The Real Madrid coach has spoken into our microphones four days before the Champions League grand final that the whites will play next Saturday at the London stadium of Wembley against the Borussia Dortmundin search of their fifteenth European Cup.
A competition that is “important for Real Madrid” and “almost more so for other clubs, if perhaps Milan can be a bit similar.” “Not only the players, but all the club’s workers are in Champions mode. There is a special atmosphere here, the history of this club was born with the European Cup,” he said. Carlettoto whom Juanma, as expected, has brought out “the phrase of the season in Real Madrid”: “Tell me about the sea, sailor”.
“Tell me about the sea, sailor”
A phrase (which actually comes from a poem by Rafael Alberti) that the Italian coach began to make fashionable on the eve of the last Clásico of the season against FC Barcelona, after the numerous and fiery criticisms of the whites for his supposedly ultra-defensive approach in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
And Ancelotti takes advantage of his team’s great season despite the serious injuries to Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao and David Alabamore a Vinicius Junior who was off the playing field for two months. Thus, the Italian praises the “enormous professionalism” of Kepa Arrizabalaga, signed a few hours after Courtois’ injury, in addition to highlighting how Jude Bellingham y Aurelien Tchouaméni They have changed their natural positions in response to the needs of the team.
“Bellingham played as an inside player for Dortmund and reached the area very well, so taking into account that we have two fantastic forwards (Vinicius and Rodrygo), it was difficult to place him,” he says regarding the Englishman, while of the Frenchman, who has played in many games as a center back, he noted: “He didn’t like it, but He understood that it was an emergency situation. She did it selflessly and she did it very well.. Then I convinced him: ‘Do you prefer to play center back or go to the bench? He told me: ‘From central, from central…'”.
“Success is collective commitment”
Likewise, the coach from Reggiolo (“a village of farmers”, he says, and “not of the sea”), highlights how his team passed the quarterfinal tie against City. “That a team has a single identity limits you. The most important thing is commitment. The quality, the creativity of the footballer… but The most important thing without the ball is collective commitment, so the success of this team is that in the important moments of the season the collective commitment has come to light. If the forwards work without the ball and help the team, you are going to win the games,” he points out.
Regarding the Wembley final against Borussia Dortmund, Ancelotti avoids the favoritism that the bets give to Real Madrid. “The small details are what decide the finals. Do you think I really have to explain something to my footballers? They know it perfectly: there is a lot of optimism, but we are realistic. You have to prepare it well (the final) and enjoy this week, which is fantastic (…) What worries me are the injuries. because anything can happen in a training session. “Sometimes there are kicks and a player can be injured,” he says.
“Dortmund is a supportive and complete team”
Ancelotti, who faces his ninth Champions League final on Saturday (his sixth as a coach after having played three as a footballer), praises Borussia Dortmund, ensuring that it is no coincidence that he has arrived at the Wembley event after leaving teams like Atlético de Madrid (quarterfinals) and Paris Saint-Germain (semifinals) on the road. “Is a very supportive and committed team, a physically very powerful team who works well in all aspects of the game: they know how to attack, defend, transition, they are a complete team… if they were not complete they would not have reached the final.”
Finally, the transalpine coach highlights the role of veteran players such as Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vázquez, Nacho, Luka Modric or Toni Kroos, who will not continue with Real Madrid next season after having announced his retirement. “They are players who get along very well and are Real Madrid fans. The key is the veterans, footballers who have created a fantastic atmosphere and I hope that the young people can keep this atmosphere alive in the future,” Ancelotti concluded in the interview with The First Stick.
2024-05-28 21:28:51
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