ROME (ITALPRESS) – “Coaching Real Madrid is an honor and a pleasure. I said that winning is not easy, but winning with Real Madrid is a little easier than elsewhere.” So said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, host of ‘Radio Anch’io Sport’ on Rai Radio 1, on his umpteenth title win in the Intercontinental Cup. “Rematch with Milan in the Champions League? The goal is to get to play in the final, we have set ourselves this goal again this year,” the Blancos coach continued, “The path has not been easy so far, there are two games left to qualify and then we will see. In Europe the only team that has made a clear path has been Liverpool, leading in Champions and Premier League. But then it’s in March-April that you have to be ready to try to win.” The former AC Milan coach also commented on Fonseca’s exoneration, “I remain of the idea that the exoneration of a coach is part of a coach’s job. I have been exonerated a thousand times. When there are problems in a team, the responsibility falls on the one man. Unfortunately, it does. In his job, the coach is one man, especially in times of difficulty. One can argue about the ways, however, in the end the result is that the coach is sent away, it is a sad moment for a technician. Fonseca knows that can happen when you do this kind of work. It is said that when you close the door you open a door. We coaches are sorry when you get exonerated, but we get over it.” “What has this Milan team lacked? It’s hard to say,” Ancelotti continued in his examination. “When we played against them, Milan played very well and deserved to win, they probably did not find the continuity that the management was asking for. When you don’t find continuity there are many reasons: new coach, new signings, need to have time to adapt all the new things. Unfortunately, adaptation goes in line with results, especially in a company as big as Milan. Relationship with Theo and Leao? The relationship is not necessarily good only if you make the players play, otherwise it would be impossible, because only 11 go on the field and then another 15 go to the bench. A good relationship is based on the day-to-day and respecting roles. If he left them out, he must have had his good reasons.” The former Juventus and Napoli coach finds Serie A a “compelling league, there are so many teams up front. Inter are the most proven, they have a competitive squad. Atalanta is doing excellently, while Napoli has been reborn with the work and seriousness of Antonio Conte.” Claudio Ranieri, who from next season will become a manager with ‘full powers’ at Roma, mentioned his name for the Giallorossi bench: “I always read, but I don’t want to think about it at all. I feel very good here and I work to stay here as much as possible. Claudio is a friend, he is doing very well at Roma and I am very happy, I am very attached to the Giallorossi club: I cannot forget the years I spent there as a young man, Rome is always a great memory. However, between saying and doing there is a middle of the sea, now I’m doing well here and I don’t want to think about what my future will be. The circle never closes in Madrid. The day you win one title already you think about the next one you can win. And that’s good, it keeps me motivated. Coaching a national team? I haven’t considered it yet, I enjoy coaching every day.” Another club of his, Juventus, suffers from ‘draws’: “A team that has never lost is a positive aspect. If it had won a few more games it would have been better, but Motta arrived this year, the team has changed a lot, had a few injuries in defense like us. There is a need for time and patience, although patience is not a quality in soccer.” Told against the idea of ten substitutions (“Just play fewer games. Uefa, Fifa, and national leagues have to find an agreement.”), Ancelotti dwells on the evolution of soccer: “It has changed, it is changing, and it will change again. Refereeing has improved, like the referee-player relationship, it has changed for the better. What needs to be revised is the number of matches: the schedule is exaggerated and too demanding for players. There is no more opportunity for training. The calendar has to change, it cannot go on like this, because it puts the players’ health at risk.” The new Champions League format finds his liking: “There are many more surprises. More accredited teams like us, City and Psg have had more problems than less strong teams like Lille or Brest, now in the top positions. This new format has brought a little more uncertainty. But there is still room to recover.” Two young ‘merengues’, Jimenez of Milan and Nico Paz of Como, are finding space in Italy: “Jimenez has a lot of potential and is very fast. On a personal level I have followed him little, because I have not had the chance to coach him, from the youth sector he went straight to Milan. But he is a boy with potential. Paz is a player we follow a lot, he is very good, he is a great talent, this year of training outside Real is very good for him. We believe,” Ancelotti concluded, “he is a player who can be the future of Real Madrid.
– Photo Ipa Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
Ancelotti to Fonseca “Exoneration is part of coaching job”
