REAL MADRID
Carlo Ancelotti’s press conference before Real Madrid vs Osasuna in LaLiga 23/24
The Italian coach spoke ahead of Real Madrid’s tricky tie against Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the press ahead of the LaLiga game against Osasuna. The Italian manager has a squad selection headache given various injuries and suspensions, meaning that he has key decisions to make in the hours before the first whistle.
Ancelotti also spoke about the future of Croatian midfielder, Luka Modric, who has been linked with a move to MLS, as well as the form of Rordygo, Bellingham, Fran García, Diego Simeone and the 2030 World Cup final.
The main debate surrounding Los Blancos this week has been the squad news and who will substitute David Alaba, who did not complete training on Friday due to physical issues. With the suspension for Nacho as well as Militão’s season-ending injury, Antonio Rüdiger is the club’s only senior centre-back available.
Who will play in defence for Real Madrid?
“We’ve tried Tchouaméni there in training over the past few days”, came Ancelotti with the surprise name, “he can use the defensive aspects he has as a pivot at centre-back. He’s good in the air. The other name is Mendy, who is used to playing in the back line.”
Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr appeared in court during the week to testify against alleged racist remarks that were made against him in a game against Valencia. The Brazilian has come under simply dreadful levels of criticism, with Vinicius himself being labelled the aggressor instead of the victim. “They try to twist the tale”, said Ancelotti, “Vinicius was the victim of racism, it doesn’t matter if it was one person or ten. There is a judicial process. There are media outlets that try to twist things, it makes me sad and angry.”
Carlo continued: “I haven’t spoken to Vinicius about it, I haven’t spoken, nobody knows. But he’s OK; very motivated and happy to play tomorrow.”
‘I understand Modric completely’
After that the questions came regarding Luka Modric, Real Madrid’s midfield jewel for over a decade. The Croatian has won everything in the Spanish capital, but this season his minutes have been severely reduced to due various changes to the squad. As a result, rumours have swirled regarding a possible January exit to Inter Miami in MLS, but this was something that Ancelotti denied while praising the mindset of the player: “I don’t think he’s thinking about it, we think he is very important and he knows it, he doesn’t have that thought and we are happy with him.”
“I speak to him every day and I see a player who is obviously not happy not to play, but having said that he keeps his motivation high as well as his drive to bring something to the team, nobody can give what he gives in the dressing room. It’s his charisma, what he gives to his teammates. I understand him completely that not playing affects him, it happens to everyone else who loves Modric: fans, teammates, coaches, they all love him too.”
The World Cup 2030 is set to be played in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, as well as various one-off games in South America. Already the debate is raging as to where the final game should be played, with Morocco making their voices heard early on as potential contenders. Ancelotti, however, had a different viewpoint: “It should be played in Madrid and at the Bernabéu because it’s going to be the best stadium in the world, it’s as simple as that.”
Ancelotti supportive of Rodrygo
During the week, Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeone supposedly insinuated that Real Madrid win in Europe because of their young players. This caused a bit of a stir as it was somewhat understood that he was criticising the pace of LaLiga and Ancelotti responded with typical class and respect: “He spoke about energy, intensity, we have that with these young players. Each [manager] has to play with the characteristics of the players they have. You can win with older and younger players. I’ve done it with both. To play with intensity of course younger players can deal with more, but the older players have other characteristics.”
Ancelotti was eventually asked about the upcoming game against Osasuna, a tricky rival that finished within the European places last season. “We want to play fast football”, he said, “with the intensity to find solutions as quickly as possible. We expect the same from them, they defend well and will try to find moments when we are out of position to attack us. We want to attack intelligently.
Apart from Vinicius, Rodrygo is another player who has been put under the microscope due to his recent performances, with the forward struggling for goals. “It’s something that happens to strikers during their career”, said the Italian as he defended his player, “when it’s tough to score you have to keep going and try not to focus on it, you have to help with other things such as work-rate, and he does that. For now we don’t need his goals.”
Bellingham and Vini lauded by Carlo
As for the players who are currently chipping in with the goals, the partnership flowering between Bellingham and Vinicius Jr is one that is exciting across Europe and beyond. “They have different characteristics”, admitted Ancelotti, “but they team up well. Vini comes in from the outside while Bellingham starts in the middle. If the combinations between them are good, we’ll be more successful.”
The last question of the day concerned Fran García, who, despite a rocky start to part two of his career at Real Madrid, has been called up to Luis de la Fuente’s Spain team. “He’s done well since the start of the season although in the last few games Camavinga has been there. Fran’s doing well, he’s motivated and going away with the national team will be good for him, I think it’s fair.”
Real Madrid play Osasuna on Saturday October 7. Kick-off is at 10.15 a.m. ET/7.15 a.m. PT.
