Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti spoke at a press conference to offer his thoughts ahead of the match against Pachuca in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup. The tactician believes it is a great opportunity to prove that his squad will be as competitive as expected in the long term.
Carlo Ancelotti and his Real Madrid side can win their second title of the season on Wednesday evening when they take on Pachuca in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup. The Italian coach spoke to reporters from Doha, Qatar, where the event will be held, to discuss the event and answer questions from journalists. He offered interesting statements on the criticism of his figurehead and on Kylian Mbappe, among other issues.
Asked directly if he has lost the dressing room, he replied: “You’re asking me if I’ve lost control (laughs). A tough question… I haven’t lost it, of course not. In football, you go through difficult moments, it’s always happened. Sometimes they come in October-November and sometimes in April-May”.
“The important thing is to be there, to keep going. If it happens in October-November, you can still recover and we are doing that. I am sure we will be very competitive in the second part of the season. I can assure you that I haven’t lost control”.
On the possibility of overtaking Miguel Munoz as the coach with the most trophies in Merengue history, he said: “It’s something important, of course, to achieve this success. It’s a sign that I’ve done a good job, that I’ve done a good job, I think I’ve done it, but I want to continue. It is an honour to be compared to Miguel Munoz and the rest of the coaches who have had the good fortune to manage the biggest club in the world”.
On the condition of Kylian Mbappe, who travelled to the Middle East injured, he said: “It’s simple: yesterday, he trained well, he had a good feeling. He did sprints and everything went well. Today is an important training session where we will evaluate the sensations and the risk. If he is fine, talking to the doctors, he will play. If there is a minimum risk, obviously not, but the sensations yesterday were very good. We are optimistic”.