Carlo Ancelotti spoke in the press room at Real Madrid City the day before the game on matchday 15 of LaLiga against Valladolid (Friday, 9:30pm CET). The coach had the following to say on the clash at the José Zorrilla: “We’re in good shape and looking forward to returning to action. The team’s doing well and has trained well. We’ve got Benzema back, and this is very important for us. Those who returned today have been training individually and they’re available. I’m going to give priority to those who have been training here. Mariano won’t be available because he sprained his ankle in the last friendly”.
He continued: “It’s quite hard to evaluate what’s going to happen. The calendar demands a lot from us because we have the Spanish Super Cup, the Club World Cup in February. There are a lot of games up to March. What we can do is assess each player individually. Some players haven’t been able to rest much because they’ve been playing until 18 December and they need to recover. We’ll be looking at it these days. We play every three days and there are no days off, but they all have to rest”.
Benzema: “He returned on 10 December. He wasn’t too bad when he came back and he began training with the team. He played 30 minutes in the first friendly and 45 in the second. He’s feeling good and is looking forward to returning. He's going to show his quality because that’s what he’s done in training these days”.
“It’s not for me to talk about France’s decision. They assessed Karim at the time and for them he wasn’t fit for the World Cup. For us, we’ve got a player back who is highly motivated and ready. I’m sure he’s going to do well in the second half of the season”, the coach said.
Defensive work: “Not keeping a clean sheet is not just Courtois’ problem, we have to fix defensive aspects. We’ve scored a lot of goals and we’ve defended worse than we did last year. Now, in the second half of the season, we need to defend better”.
Hazard: “He’s doing well. He’s trained well and is in better shape than before the World Cup. He’s done well recently and with all the games we’ve got we have to make use of the whole squad. He’s one of the players who is going to feature most in the second half of the competition”.
New signings: "We’re quite good. We don’t need more players because the squad is quite strong, but we don’t know if anyone will leave yet. Perhaps a player will look for a team where they can get more minutes. 2022 was a fantastic year and I hope we can make it a memorable 2023”.
Players coming to the end of their contracts: “It’s a situation that doesn’t worry me because the players are really motivated. The club isn’t worried either. We’ll look at each case individually and until June I have total faith in them. I’ll be pleased if everyone stays. But if they decide to leave, I will be too”.
Endrick: “I saw him last year and we spoke a bit. We’re delighted he’ll be joining us in 2024. He’s a great player and a great talent. We’re excited that he’s coming”.
Stoppage time at the World Cup: "I don’t really understand how they managed it, but there was a lot of stoppage time added. Sooner or later, we’ll reach effective playing time, which is simpler for football”.
The possession-based style of football being on the way out: "I don’t think so because possession is an important part of football, as is defending well. There’s not just one way of playing football. What’s important is that you read situations in terms of time and the match. Sometimes you can settle a game with one counterattack or a solid defence. It’s not just about having the ball. Possession football still exists and will continue because it’s an important part of football”.
Interest from Brazil: "I don’t know if they’re interested because they haven’t contacted me. If they are, then I appreciate the interest, but my situation is clear: I’m staying here until this adventure is over. I will never tell Real Madrid that I’ll be stopping or that I want to leave”.
Messi: "He’s done really well and he’s a great footballer. His career has improved now with the World Cup win, but I don’t know if he’s the best player in history because every period has had important players. I’ll never say he’s the best ever. I’ve enjoyed and still enjoy watching top players like Ballon d'Or winners, who I see train every day. I’ve seen Di Stéfano, Maradona, Cruyff…"
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