Ancelotti: “We already have Casemiro’s successor in the squad”

Carlo Ancelotti is on the brink of becoming the first coach to have won the domestic league in all five of Europe’s major leagues. During his managerial career, has won Serie A, the Premier League, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga. Now he is poised to add LaLiga to his honours list - his Real Madrid side welcome Espanyol to the Bernabeu on Saturday requiring just one point to be crowned champions.

Ancelotti previewed the Espanyol game and looked back over the season in Friday’s press conference.

Saturday’s visit from Espanyol

We know that we are close to winning the league. But we have to take a point from the remaining games and until we do that, it’s not over. We would love to seal it tomorrow. The team is totally focused on the game and on what we have to do.

Marcelo “the perfect captain”

Marcelo has suffered because he hasn’t played many games this season. He’s always been a brilliant professional and he feels the weight of being the team’s captain. He has always trained well, even when he hasn’t been playing. He’s been the perfect captain. And not just him, other players have also deserved more playing time. He has my full respect. He is going to become the player with the most title in Real Madrid’s history.

League title celebrations

We haven’t been thinking about celebrating. We haven’t organised anything, we have only prepared for tomorrow’s game.

Resting Benzema and Vinicius

They could be rested. If a player is fit, they can play. Right now, most of the squad is fine. If anyone needs a rest, I have no problem with that.

Rotating the team

Regarding the starting XI, we have problems in defence. I’m without Alaba, Nacho and Militão. I have to field Vallejo who has hardly played at all, but who has been very professional. I will need another centre-back - possibly Casemiro. I midfield I have Camavinga who is fresh and also Ceballos. I have to decide on who forms the attack. Asensio is fresh. We’ll see if Karim is totally recoverd. I will be putting out a team to win the game. I have to be honest.

Recognition for the old school of football coaches

Football has changed. Some coaches have to move with the times. I don’t considered myself to be old, I consider myself to be experienced. Football has changed since I won my first title 20 years ago. The rules have changed. You need to adapt because it is constantly changing. You need to be smart.

Alaba

He’s got the same problem he had before the City game. I don’t know whether he’ll be fit to play.

Winning all five of Europe’s top leagues

I don’t realy like talkingh about that because I still haven’t won LaLiga. I’m a little superstitious. I’ll respond to that when this is all over.

Did you expect the team to be in this situation?

Nobody thought that we would be 15 points clear at this stage. The team has done exceptionally well, winning in difficult grounds - Sevilla, San Sebastián, Bilbao, Barcelona... That make all the difference.

Coaches who have to deal with questions in press conferences

Coaches cannot tell the whole truth in press conferences. Madridistas are thinking only about two things - winning tomorrow and winning on Wednesday. And we think exactly the same as them.

Overview of the season

I’m very satisfied with how it’s all turned out. It’s been a very simple, straightforward season for me. I’ve had support from the club and from the players. They have accept all of the decisions I’ve had to make.

Danger of the team relaxing

I don’t think so. We’ve worked very hard, but I don’t think we’ll have a problem with relaxation. We have to prepare for each game the best we can.

Team’s struggles to score

I had faith that the goals would come. I know the players very well. Karim is doing a fantastic job, Vinicius has improved. We’ve had goals coming from Modric, Toni... Casemiro scored against Getafe. Alaba has scored goals. We’ve had period when we have worked well defensively, but the work we’ve done in attack has also been important. Vinicius and Karim, and also Rodrygo have made a difference on so many occasions.

Squad management

I often chat to the players. The players’ opinion is very important, but the coach is the one who has to make the decisions. I haven’t had many players coming to me asking not to play because they are tired. We have reports from the medical team, the physios... then I have to take the decision when I have all the information at hand. A player’s opinion matters, but it’s not the most important.