The champion examines his wardrobe

One hundred and six days after proclaiming themselves with enormous brilliance and with four games to go as champions of the 2021-22 League, Real Madrid begins the formidable challenge of revalidating the title, something they have not achieved since 2008, visiting the field of promoted Almería with rotations in sight. As he already advanced after tying up the European Super Cup by beating Eintracht in Helsinki, Carlo Ancelotti confirmed yesterday that this season he will have less hesitation when it comes to shaking up the eleven because this is required by an exhausting calendar that will have the whites immersed in five competitions, to to which must be added the presence of many of the Italian’s pupils in the World Cup in Qatar, whose location in autumn alters any type of planning in use. But also because he considers that it is the ideal formula to keep a group plugged in in which the competition has intensified with the signings of Rüdiger and Tchouaméni. The Reggiolo coach has an extraordinary wardrobe and there is no better way to start the course than by showing off the many variants that he has at his disposal.

«The rotations are due to the fact of having a very strong squad and having everyone motivated. There is a World Cup and we need a fairly long squad in good condition. The idea is to rotate more compared to last year. I have a more complete squad”, Ancelotti analyzed in the first press conference he offered in Valdebebas since that massive intervention in the Media Day prior to the dispute of the Champions League final against Liverpool that earned Real Madrid the Fourteenth.

Since he touched the sky again in Paris, everything has been joy in the daily events of Real Madrid, whose ecstasy has not been altered even by Laporta’s famous levers, intended to promote the resurgence of Barça as a serious threat to happiness Meringue. In addition to a placid preseason without any surprises in the form of injuries, there was a demonstration in the capital of Finland that the Whites have not lost an iota of their competitive voracity. The gargantuan ingestion of titles over the last few months has far from satiated the stomach of a block that has set itself the challenge of fighting for the six trophies to which it aspires in the nascent campaign, the first of which has already thickened their showcases.

two casualties

«The sensations are good. We have all the hope in the world to start the season well. We are defending the title and each match will be competitive and complicated”, explained Ancelotti before facilitating a call in which Carvajal and Rodrygo did not enter due to physical reasons. The Leganés winger has had ankle problems for weeks that advise caution, despite the fact that they did not prevent him from participating in the European Super Cup. For his part, the Brazilian winger missed the last session due to an overload in his right thigh.

They are the only two casualties of Real Madrid for a match in which Ancelotti’s ‘outsiders’ hope to start charging themselves with arguments to put a coach in a bind who was characterized last year by immobility in his line-ups. Lucas Vázquez is emerging as a replacement for Carvajal and Rüdiger also points to the eleven, either as a central defender or as a left-back. In the center of the field, it seems clear that Ancelotti will bet on the violin in the most prestigious appointments, but Almería could be a good place to unleash the rock’n roll that his youngest midfielders advocate. Above, Benzema and Vinicius seem permanent, while Asensio demands minutes after being unprecedented in Helsinki.

The abundance and calm with which Ancelotti travels contrast with the troubles that torment Rubi. The Catalan coach returned Almería to the elite after the Andalusian team spent seven consecutive seasons in the Second Division and now faces the challenge of keeping it in the First Division, but he still does not know what wickers he will be able to tackle it with. The financial control of LaLiga tightens and in Almería they are pending to make cash to balance the accounts. Sadiq, one of the main architects of the promotion with the 18 goals he scored last season, is on the starting ramp as is Ramazani, who also has several girlfriends. But, while waiting for these possible sales to materialize, Rubi has both to face Real Madrid with an eleven very similar to the one that certified promotion last May in Butarque.