Ancelotti mourns Vialli: “It’s a sad day for me”

What should have been a relatively routine press conference on the day of the Three Kings, a national holiday in Spain, started off on a sad nore for Carlo Ancelotti. Instead of beginning his briefing with the press by looking ahead to the first league game of 2023, against Villarreal, he started with a few words for his friend Gianluca Vialli, who passed away a few hours earlier, aged just 58. “It’s a sad day for me. I’ve bid farewell to a friend, a team mate, a great player. May he rest in peace,” the Real Madrid coach began before moving on to preview the Villarreal game.

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We are used to playing every three days. We manage it well. The players returned from the World Cup in quite good shape. We’ve had a few minor problems, but most of them are fine. We are in a good way.

What have you asked of the Three Kings?

For me, the day is 13 December, which is Saint Lucía. I’m not used to asking anything of the Kings. At the moment, all I would ask for is to try to replicate what we did in 2022. We will do our best to repeat that or improve on it.

Thoughts on Villarreal

They have changed a little under [Quique] Setién. They play with a very clear identity - they play good football. I think it’s going to be an entertaining game, because like them, we want to put in a good game too. To beat them, we’ll need to be at our best.

Will you be speaking to any players and advising them to leave in this month’s transfer window?

If anyone wants my advice, I’ll be happy to give it. At the moment, nobody has come to my office to talk about such matters. We have a lot of game coming up and everyone in the squad will be used. Right now, no one is complaining that they are not getting a game.

Yesterday, Guardiola: “I’m a genius”. Do you consider yourself a genius too?

I consider myself to be someone who has done a great job, sometimes I get it right, sometimes I don’t but who is lucky enough to be at the best club in the world. Guardiola is a brilliant coach.

Recovering players following the World Cup

There were two different situations. Those that played the final didn’t really need much work. But it was very different to those who had been pretty much inactive for 20 days. We worked a little with those players. But today’s players are more professional - they know when to stop and rest but they keep training. They don’t stop completely, they’re always doing something and so when they return, they are in good shape.

The fixtures calendar is incessant...

A completely fresh team will play tomorrow, most of them will be the players who didn’t take part midweek against Cacereño. It will be a team not too dissimilar to the one that ended last year. After that, I’ll choose teams based on who is in the best form. The Super Cup is a very important tournament for us and I will try to select the best team for it.

Rodrygo’s position. Where do you see him battling to be first-choice at Madrid?

To be first-choice I don’t know. Rodrygo is a starter, every game he plays is important. There are no first-choice players, very few. Within the squad I have hardly rested Vinicius. Rodrygo played when Benzema was out injured. What matters is that Rodrygo can play in any of the attacking positions and make a difference. He’s not a specialist in one specific position, he can play in several roles up-front.

Have you asked the Kings to bring you Bellingham?

No. Bellingham showed at the World Cup that he is a great midfielder, like many others. There are a lot of young players - Enzo, Pedri and Gavi... A lot of talented young midfielders are emerging and Bellingham is one of them, but I am happy with the midfielders I have, the ones we have are very, very good: Tchouameni, Camavinga, Valverde... We have lots of good young players here.