Carlo Ancelotti asked his players for the “courage” and “personality” that they lacked last year at the Etihad to face a new confrontation with the powerful Manchester City led by Pep Guardiola. «We played without courage and without personality. “They are two fundamental aspects in this type of match and in the second leg we lacked this,” said the Real Madrid coach before receiving the Citizens at the Santiago Bernabéu on Tuesday.
“I am confident that we are going to get the best we have,” said the transalpine man in the face of a lawsuit for which he considers “the mental aspect” essential and which he predicted as “very attractive.” «Two teams are playing that have a lot of quality. It’s going to be a very nice game on a technical level. We think of being superior in some aspects and they in others. The superiority will be seen at the end of these 180 minutes,” said the man from Reggiolo.
Carletto, who will reach 200 games in the Champions League as a coach on Tuesday, downplayed the fact that Tchouaméni, Camavinga, Bellingham and Vinicius are facing sanctions. “If they get a card they won’t be able to play the second leg, but others will play,” said the Real Madrid coach, also unmoved by those who praise Guardiola’s virtues as a strategist while praising, above all, the Italian’s skills as a locker room manager. «It doesn’t bother me. Guardiola is a great coach and what he thinks of me doesn’t matter to me. “I care what my club thinks,” he said.
He reiterated that, despite his long experience, he continues to get nervous before this type of match. «The hours before a game, on a personal level, are suffering. You might think that defeat is suffering and victory is happiness, but that is not the case. Victory is a relief. It is happiness if you win titles. The days after the victory you are calmer. But suffering and stress are fuel for me,” Ancelotti clarified in a press conference in which he stressed that the future of the crossing, above strategies, will pass through the feet of the highest quality players. «This is going to determine the match, as always happens. There are many things in these games, individual quality, the duel, the defenses, the counters. It is not a single aspect. “These are all aspects that we have to manage well,” he emphasized.
No experiments
He pointed to the existing differences with respect to the crossing disputed last year. «We have different characteristics. Last year we had Benzema who was a reference as a center forward. This season we have handled this absence with more mobility in front and it has been good for us. Not fixing the positions in front could be one of the keys to tomorrow’s game,” said Carletto, who has hardly any doubts about the eleven. “There is a doubt and nothing more,” said the coach, who is torn between Nacho and Tchouaméni as Rüdiger’s partners in the rearguard axis.
He also downplayed the physical problems suffered by several City players. «They have casualties, but they have handled them very well as we have done. Guardiola put centre-backs to play as full-backs and they did very well. “If they have casualties it will not affect them,” said the Real Madrid coach, who, for his part, does not plan to do any type of experiments. «I’m not going to put strange things into the game. You’re not going to miss the alignment, don’t worry,” he clarified with a laugh.
Finally, he applauded Bellingham’s performance in his first season at Real Madrid. «Jude is having a very good season in the area and is helping us a lot at the back. He physically he is very strong and he can do it. “He is helping us a lot in the defensive aspects and his mobility above him is benefiting us a lot,” he said about a footballer who did not surprise him as a player but as a person. «The key point is that he is very mature. He is only 20 years old but he is more mature than a person his age. He is very professional, serious and humble. “His head is very well furnished,” he concluded.
2024-04-08 11:40:45
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