With a third of the season played, Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid is beginning to take shape. The players are beginning to understand his system and what is necessary for the team to grow. The principal objective is to win the Champions League and in order to do that, the Italian manager will have to improve on the results of his predecessor, José Mourinho, who reached the semifinals in three straight seasons with Madrid. In order to lift the Champions League trophy and achieve the other objectives of this season, Ancelotti preferred to keep Ángel Di María instead of Mesut Özil in the Real Madrid squad. On this and many other subjects, Ancelotti gave an interview with The Times, which appeared in today’s edition of the newspaper.
“The fans here don’t just look at the result, they look at how you play. In Madrid you have to win with style. It’s not enough to just win. For example, Fabio Capello was removed after winning the league. In Chelsea my team was more physical, but here the technical quality of the players is better,” Ancelotti declared in reference to the Bernabéu public, who not only demanding winning, but also playing well.
With passage to the next phase of the Champions League practically assured, Real Madrid will set that competition aside until February, when the most important part of the season will begin. That is when Madrid must focus harder on achieving the goals of the season, one of which is winning the Champions League, although according to Ancelotti it is not an obsession: “La Décima is not an obsession, but it is a motivation. For the club it is very important. The last time Madrid played in the final was 2002. For a club like Madrid, this is not good enough.”
Just like last year's campaign, Madrid has begun the season dropping points in the league and falling behind the leaders, but Ancelotti maintains that this is a new project and he does not think on what happened in the past, with Mourinho: “In the club they do not discuss what happened last season with Mourinho and I don’t ask. Reaching the semifinals of the Champions League is not bad. It is not good enough for some clubs, but it’s not bad.”
The sale of Özil has been a topic of debate since his departure to the Premier League, a competition that Ancelotti admires and in which he has a favorite: “There is a lot of balance, but in my opinion, Manchester City has the best team. Arsenal is doing well, but we have helped them, of course. Arsène Wenger must invite us to dinner because we gave him Özil. It was my decision. When we signed Bale it was difficult to find a space for him and he needs to play. In Chelsea, Mourinho was always going to do well, but many players have changed [since his last reign as manager] and it is not easy.”
Finally, Ancelotti discussed Paul Clement, for whom he only has words of praise and one who he believes would be a great coach. “He is the best assistant that I have ever had. He prepares the practices brilliantly and manages the training exercises with precision. He has all the the qualities and experience to be a head coach.” The Italian also joked that Clement’s bad Spanish means that they must stay together a few more years: “I know that one day I will have to say goodbye and this can be the day that I stop and go on a holiday. But I have spoken with Paul’s Spanish teacher and he’s told me that he needs 10 more years to speak, so that means we must stay…”