After the departure of Zinedine Zidane which happened last week, Real moved quickly to reappoint Ancelotti giving life thus to the second spell of the Italian coach. Zidane, who was also in his second spell as Los Blancos boss, decided to walk away from the job after the club’s first trophy-less season in 11 years. Ancelotti’s first spell in Madrid lasted for two seasons from 2013 to 2015 where he won the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup during his spell there, as well as the domestic Copa del Rey.
Carlo Ancelotti is a very familiar face for the Spanish capital and he will take over from his former assistant. Massimiliano Allegri, Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Raul and Xabi Alonso had all been linked with a move to Real, but it was Ancelotti who signed a three-year deal with Los Blancos. Maybe he wasn't Florentino Perez and Jose Angel Sanchez's first option, but the fact they couldn't bring in Allegri or Pochettino saw Real Madrid turn to the Italian tactician as the best idea at this moment. He arrives after ending his contract with Everton in an amicable way, returning to another club where he remains well-liked and respected.
The 61-year-old Italian coach, thanked Everton and said that he could not turn down the opportunity of a return to the Bernabeu hotseat. “I would like to thank the board of directors, the players, and the Evertonians for the tremendous support they have all given me during my time at the club. I have complete respect for everyone associated with Everton and hope they can achieve the exciting opportunities they have in front of them. While I have enjoyed being at Everton I have been presented with an unexpected opportunity which I believe is the right move for me and my family at this time”, he said.
Ancelotti had been in charge of Everton since December 2019 and, though the Toffees finished a disappointing tenth in the Premier League this season, he was a popular figure at Goodison. Everton are set to move quickly to bring in a replacement and talkSPORT understands Nuno Espirito Santo is their top choice.
After the announcement and the signature on the contract, Carletto spoke at a virtual press conference at Real Madrid City where he was accompanied by the Director of Institutional Relations, Emilio Butragueño. It was obvious that the Italian would be bombarded with questions surrounding Gareth Bale’s future, Sergio Ramos’ renewal, a reunion with Cristiano Ronaldo, if Kylian Mbappe would be signing for the club this summer and much more!
The press continued as follows: “Thanks a lot Emilio, and thanks to Real Madrid. I would like to thank the club president, José Ángel and all the board of directors. I’m delighted to return here, I feel at home here. I’m going to put all my energy into this to try to repeat what we did together in the past. I have very fond memories of the two years I spent here - the trophies, the relationship with everyone. I think we’re going to repeat something great in this new experience, this new challenge as manager of Real Madrid. I will take on this challenge with desire, great joy and I’ll do my absolute best”. I’ll give it all my energy and total commitment. Managing Real Madrid is a tremendous responsibility. You have the privilege of coaching the best club in the world, and of course you have more responsibility than in any other place. I fully accept this and I will do it the same way I did in the past - to by best ability”.
A new era: “The tradition and history of this club is to play attacking, entertaining and intense football. Football has changed in the last five years. It’s more intense, more aggressive and more organised. Some of the rules have changed, but the idea is the same for Real Madrid. The style of football has to be attacking and entertaining because that’s what the history of this club and its fans call for”.
The squad: “I know the squad very well. I know the younger players who are in the academy side and the players who are returning from loan spells. We’ve got a lot of options in the squad and I’d like to assess everyone in my own time. The first time I was here four players from Castilla joined us: Morata, Nacho, Casemiro and Jesé. Then Carvajal, who was returning from Bayer Leverkusen. Thanks to this enthusiasm, we had success with the players we already had. In the coming days, I’ll be looking at the squad, along with the club, to make sure it’s in the best condition to compete in every competition”.
Hazard: “First of all, he’s a top player. He’s had a lot of injury problems. I don’t think he’s reached his full potential yet, but he will do, because he’s got the desire. It could be the right year to see him produce his best”.
What has the club president asked of you? “I saw him just before. We only spoke for a short while. It was all very quick and we haven’t had time to talk until now. Now we’ll begin to talk and try to do what is best for Real Madrid. I just thanked the president because being here means a lot to me”.
Experience: “I’m not the same Ancelotti as the one from six years ago, I’m different. I’ve got more experience. This may be positive or negative. I felt very good at Everton. In terms of the squad, we still haven’t specified the details. There is a mix of players with experience, like Kroos, Modrić, Ramos, Bale and Benzema, and a group of very young players with a lot of quality like Rodrygo, Vini Jr. and Valverde. There’s lot of quality in the squad. After we look at things in more detail we’ll have to reduce it a bit because it’s very big and we’ll have to see how we can reduce it”.
About the Coaching staff: “We’re going to look at the coaching staff in the coming days. I’ve just arrived today for the presentation. We haven’t spoken at all, only about the contract I had to finish with Everton. In the next few days, we’ll talk about the squad and the coaching staff”.
Thoughts on the forwards: “Benzema should be scoring 50 goals, not 30. Vini Jr. has to score more and we have to get more goals from the others too. These are the players I’ve got, Karim has done really well. Karim has improved a lot in this period, he has more responsibility. He’s a top striker. Then there are young players with a lot of potential. The aim is to score goals, not just to sign a striker who scores 30 goals. We have to look to get the wide players to score, and from central players too. We have to introduce an offensive system and mentality”.
Can this squad compete? “Yes, this squad can. If I remember correctly, without the players who were loaned out like Bale, Odegaard and Ceballos, Madrid reached the Champions League semi-finals and fought for the league title. So yes, definitely”.
Isco, Marcelo and Bale: “I’m very fond of all of them - of Gareth, Isco and Marcelo. They are Real Madrid players and I’ll try to motivate them. Then they will be judged on their performances. The motivation for these players has to be to perform well and show the manager that they want to play for Real Madrid. Gareth hasn’t played much. He hasn’t had much playing time in the Premier League, but he’s scored a lot of goals. He was very effective, especially when he got a run of games together. He’s returning and I know him really well. He’s motivated to play and he could have a great season. I’m convinced”.
On his first spell at the club: “I remember the games we won, the trophies, the difficult moments, the day I left, the day I arrived. Five years have since passed and it’s very special to return here. It’s the same feeling as when I arrived the first time. I think I felt more uncertainty the first time, on reflection. Now I have more confidence with the people who work here, with the president, José Ángel and the fans, who loved me so much. I have less uncertainty and more confidence".
What should and shouldn’t be done at Madrid? “I’ve been in football for 40 years. The players play football and the journalists report what happens and it’s completely normal. I know all about this world and the way it is. It’s normal, we have to accept what happens and have respect for everyone who works in the industry: players, coaches and journalists”.
Sergio Ramos: “All I know is that Real Madrid are going to try to win every competition and we’ll do so with the best squad possible. In relation to Sergio Ramos, I’ve just arrived and I have to speak to the club about all this. We’ll do so in the coming days. I couldn’t imagine Real Madrid without Carlo Ancelotti but it has happened. We all have to accept it. The return came very quickly, we did it over the last few days. It started on Saturday and I haven’t had time to talk about the squad. I’m really excited to be back and to be working with them again, but we’ll talk about the future of the squad in the coming days because we haven’t had time to speak about it”.
Ramos contract renewal: “He’s a very important player for Real Madrid, he’s played a crucial part in all the club’s successes. We’re going to speak to the player. I know there is talk of a renewal, but I’m unaware of the details because I was in Liverpool until yesterday. When I know more I’ll speak more openly about it”.
On Zidane: “He won three European Cups in one spell. He did a fantastic job right up until the end. Everyone has to thank Zizou. But that’s football. A manager leaves but what remains is what he’s done, which was incredible. I haven’t spoken to him yet. It all happened so quickly, but I’ll speak to him. In recent times we’ve not had a continuous relationship, we’ve sent each other a few messages, but Zizou is a friend and I‘m going to talk to him. I don't want to answer because I don't know about the personal relationship Zizou has had with the president. When Real Madrid called me to return I had absolutely no doubt”.
Criticism of Zidane: “I want Madrid to win LaLiga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey. This is the objective. The criticism is all part of it, it’s the most loved club in the world. It’s a lot of responsibility and sometimes things don’t go the way you want, but the important thing is the respect for the person, the coach, the journalists and the players”.
Mbappé: “I believe that top quality players give you a better chance of winning trophies and achieving success. It’s important to have a team with balance and quality, with the ability to make sacrifices and play together. After that, the individuality of the players clearly gives you something more. It’s very important”.
Cristiano Ronaldo: “I'm really fond of him, but I don't like to talk about players who are at other clubs. He’s got a contract with Juventus and I don't think it's right to talk about it. I can speak about my admiration for him. He’s been doing really well at Juve and has been scoring a lot of goals. An Italian journalist asked me if I thought this was the end of his career. I asked him how many goals he‘d scored and he said 30. So I said yes, because if he was scoring 50 goals before, it means he’s slowing down”.
Welcome back home, Carletto!!!
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