MADRID, 15 One. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, has assured that he is “delighted” that it is said that his team plays “against”, something that is not “simple” and that is as “respectable” as any other option, and He has explained that his “plan” will change in the final of the Spanish Super Cup against Athletic Club.
“I am delighted that it can be said that Real Madrid is capable of playing against, because it is not that simple; it means playing vertically, which requires players who make passes at the right time and strikers who can attack at the right time. “Real Madrid’s counterattack against Barcelona wasn’t one against a pass, it was four or five, low, with six players inside the area. It wasn’t scored with a long ball for Vinícius’ run. Sometimes I hear this. It was three or four very short passes. It’s a well-made counterattack. Delighted that it’s said that Real Madrid plays on the counterattack,” he declared at a press conference.
In addition, he reiterated that he respects “all facets of football.” “If you want to play with possession and think it’s a simpler thing to win games, it’s respectable. The game that Cádiz played against us is respectable, it got us into difficulties. There is no magic that makes you win games , the perfect system does not exist, just as the perfect game does not exist. If I play against, I am not going to win every game, and neither with possession; you also win from set pieces. If we play a game to defend, it does not mean that the team is only to defend. We are the team that has scored the most goals in LaLiga”, he indicated.
On the other hand, the Italian coach is convinced that “small details” will be “very important” in the match against the Basques. “The strength from set pieces, given what they have done against Atlético de Madrid, could be an important aspect of the game,” he said. “The plan is to win the game. You have to evaluate the opposing team well; we know each other very well, we played twice a month ago, once in Bilbao and once in Madrid,” he recalled.
“They were two very even and competitive games, and the same is going to be tomorrow. Athletic has many records: defensive solidity, good organization, speed, set-piece skills… We have to take all this into account. The plan will be different to that of the semifinal, because Athletic has different registers to Barcelona. It will not be the same plan, it is evident”, he continued.
In another order of things, he confessed that with Marcelino García Toral, coach of Athletic Club, he has “a skin friendship”. “Sometimes there are people who, even though time passes, approach you and you feel something special. I feel this with him. He seems like an excellent coach, because Athletic is playing very well, they did very well in Valencia… All the games against his teams are very complicated. He is a coach who controls the small details very well, his teams are very well organized from the first minute to the end. The game against Atlético de Madrid showed this, it was a very well organized team and He never gives up,” he said.
“WE ARE PUSHING VINICIUS TO PLAY MORE ON THE INSIDE”
On the situation of the team, he explained that “no” they have “problems in the physical aspect.” “We have two doubts: Alaba and Asensio,” he revealed. “I have never taken a risk with a player who is not feeling well. If Alaba and Asensio are well, they will be available; if they are not well, others will play, like Nacho and Rodrygo, who played very well against Barcelona. We will not force anyone” , he added.
He also valued the loss of winger Dani Carvajal after testing positive for coronavirus. “We are used to this happening. I’m sorry for Carvajal, who had come back and had a good game. He’s fine, he just has a little cold but he’s physically fine,” he said.
Regarding Vinícius’s options, the Madrid coach warned that “he won’t have much space up front.” “I think he will have a lot of space outside, and he can enjoy it. We are pushing Vinícius to play a little more inside to help Benzema more. Inside, against Valencia, he scored. He is a player who not only has to enjoy dribbling in one-on-one from the outside, if not also going inside without the ball. It’s a quality that he doesn’t have yet but that he can enjoy, with that speed he has he can also enjoy it without the ball”, he explained, before talking about Karim Benzema’s vision in the locker room.
“Benzema hasn’t changed, he maintains that humility. He hasn’t changed, what others see in him has changed: a stronger player, with more personality, more mature, more of a leader. Others see him differently, and I also, six years ago,” he said.
On the fact of playing in a final with Real Madrid again, he confessed that he “didn’t” expect to do it again after being fired in his first stage. “I am very happy to live this period, I am very excited. To play in a final again is special, and it is even more so to play it with Real Madrid, who are used to experiencing these kinds of moments,” he said.
In addition, he assured that the best moment of this course was “before Christmas, in the match against Atlético”. “I’m happy to reach this final like this. I know the personality and character of this team to take on these types of games and it leaves me much calmer. I don’t have to put pressure, motivation or concentration, they have them,” he said.
Finally, he acknowledged that “no” he is uncomfortable playing in Saudi Arabia. “We had a good atmosphere in the Clásico, with many fans of Real Madrid and Barcelona. It was a very nice atmosphere. We know that it is important for the RFEF to help the minor leagues, and for the Spanish too,” he concluded.