“If I have to answer every criticism I receive I will not leave here,” Carlo Ancelotti quipped of the criticism he has received in the last hours after the derby defeat.
Some 2 days after the derby defeat against Atletico Madrid and just hours before the duel with Las Palmas, Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti has reminded that he cannot get carried away by the… noise surrounding his position.
“Can you give me a summary of the criticisms?” , he began by saying. “What can I tell you? Public opinion can have their say and say what they want because football is our passion. We respect all opinions, but I appreciate things with more balance. I need to have balance and luckily I have it in my DNA: I am a person capable of evaluating things correctly. To question everything when a team has won six out of six games, in the circumstances they did, seems to me too much.”
Ancelotti was asked directly if it bothers him that he is said to be afraid to leave Modric and Kroos on the bench in big games. “It’s not true that I’m afraid. You can tell that at the beginning of the season they haven’t played much and when they came in they contributed,” he recalled about the minutes of media participation.
Another topic that was heavily focused on at the press conference is his future. The manager’s contract expires in June and there is much talk of him being Brazil’s next manager. A juncture that has sparked discussions about his possible replacement. Among them is Xabi Alonso.
“Everyone knows that I feel very good here, but now it is not the most important issue. There are a lot of games right now. They had Xabi Alonso as a player and he has great knowledge, he has that ability, I wish him, Raul or Arbeloa are Real Madrid managers because I love them a lot and I hope one day they become Real Madrid managers.”
Real Madrid’s change of formation this year, from a 4-3-3 to Bellingham’s signature diamond, continues to be a matter of debate. Ancelotti has admitted he understands he is creating controversy, but stressed there are no foolproof systems. “As I say, each has its pros and cons. With this system, Bellingham’s position has given us an advantage and I think it fits the players we have. Against Atlético, we forgot a little what needs to be done.”
He also explained what he expects from his forwards and justified the way old-school managers approach attacking tactics. “The mistakes that new coaches make is that they give too much information to the forwards and I think that takes away the creativity a little bit. Without the ball it’s concentration, sacrifice and with the ball it depends on creativity. I don’t want to take away everyone’s creativity.”
