On the eve of the match against Espanyol, in search of points to close the gap in the standings with Barcelona, Real Madrid is finalising the details to best face the championship commitment. Speaking at the press conference in the usual appointment on the eve Charles Ancelottitechnician of the merengueswhich however started from another very sensitive issue of these days: the possibility that the players want to strike due to the busy and crazy schedule of this season.
“The players are thinking about changing the future of football,” Ancelotti began. “The important thing is to reflect on this. That the bodies, UEFA, FIFA, realize that the players are tired. This is the objective. The calendar of this season will not change. Solutions? The player would have no problem reducing his salary if it meant playing fewer games,” the Italian coach thought. While I am considering the possibility of lowering the salary as a solution for the calendar: “Football must reflect because the objective is to play fewer games to avoid injuries. If this, reducing the number of games, comes from lowering the salary? The objective is to play fewer games. If the players play less, they have no problem lowering the salary.
Moving on to the commitment with Espanyol: “What do I want? A Madrid that is improving, that is making progress, that seems to be entering a good dynamic.” On the possibility of making rotations with respect to the Champions League exit: “Tomorrow might be a good day, but today is not the time to say that.”
On the pitch tomorrow with four pure midfielders? “It’s difficult to say, but balance is a collective thing that can be done with two strikers or three. The Champions League in Paris was with three strikers, but with perfect balance. Having an extra midfielder doesn’t mean having more balance. It can be done with three or four strikers. Now the debate can be: what is Bellingham? Striker, midfielder… Balance can come from collective work. We will have it, without a doubt.”
On the annoyance that the phrase ‘Madrid wins, but they don’t deserve it’ might cause him: “No, it doesn’t bother me. The fans are happy. We can play better, but the fans are used to “rock and roll” football. There aren’t many touches. We try to make the Madrid fans happy. The ideal would be to win and play well. For me, against Stuttgart, we sometimes made some fantastic plays.” Slipping for a moment to the Club World Cup and the Intercontinental Cup: “It’s not clear yet. We play what we’re asked to play. We’re not focused on that. We’re coming off the Champions League and now La Liga. We have a lot to think about until December.”
A good day to get closer to Barcelona: “Besides the calendar, what is favorable is to play well and arrive well on Tuesday. Seeing that the team is improving, that it has a good dynamic… This is positive. After that, the season is very long. It’s not the time to think about the opponents.” Instead, regarding the physical form of the group: “We are not at our best and that’s normal. We will improve when the season starts to get into the heart of the important things. For now we are fine.”
The state of Camavinga: “Camavinga is very close (to returning, ed.). He will work with the team next week and is working very well. He is very important for us. It allows us to have more resources and will bring a lot”. What is needed for rock and roll football: “Intensity, rhythm… Without wasting too much time to reach the opponent’s goal. These are our characteristics. We have players with a lot of strength, especially on the ball, and we have to take advantage of it”.
Mbappé, Vinicius, Rodrygo and Bellingham all together on the pitch can upset the balance of the team: “The team’s objective is to be compact. If Vinicius, Kylian and Rodrygo press and the midfielders don’t advance, it’s not a problem for Vinicius and Mbappé. To be compact, we have to bring the lines closer together. That’s all. I understand your thinking. That the lack of balance is due to the fact that Vinicius, Mbappé and Rodrygo don’t work… that’s not the case. I don’t ask them to do the work of the midfielders and defenders. If I want to defend, I don’t put them in, but three defenders. Unfortunately, there’s work with and without the ball and we have to find a balance.”
Finally on the return to last year’s scheme: “It’s something we’re evaluating. They’ve created a lot of chances for us. Against Stuttgart we couldn’t get out from behind. A bit like what happened to Barça yesterday, which cost them a red card. We also couldn’t get out against Real, twice. We were created because we failed with the ball, not because we didn’t have defensive balance in transitions. It’s because we failed with the ball. To avoid this, we need to get the ball further up the pitch as soon as possible. Sometimes a long ball is the solution to avoid problems.”