Ancelotti: “We're excited about the league starting and we want to hold on to the title”
"It's always been difficult for us against Mallorca and we’ll have to fight to win the game,” said the Real Madrid coach.
Carlo Ancelotti spoke in the press room at Real Madrid City to discuss Real Madrid's league opener against Mallorca at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix (Sunday, 09:30 pm CEST): “The league starts tomorrow. We are excited about it and we want to hold on to the title that we deservedly won last season. It's always been difficult for us against Mallorca. Now they have changed coach and another very experienced and capable coach has come in. We’ll have to fight to win the game.”
“We don't know how many competitions we'll have to play in because the Club World Cup and the Intercontinental are not quite clear yet. Even so, we're going to compete in all of them and in all the games we have ahead of us. Nobody is talking about a septet. The calendar demands that we only focus on the games we have to play, starting with tomorrow's. We have to think about preparing things every three days because that's what the calendar demands, but with this squad we can compete in all competitions.”
“The dates for the Club World Cup and the Intercontinental have not been confirmed. We don't know when or how the season will be run and we can't think about a septet.”
Rodrygo’s contribution
“He contributes a lot. In the game against Atalanta, when we went with a 4-4-2 formation, he worked in defence in the midfield. He did that very well and the data supports that. He contributed a lot defensively and offensively.”
Bellingham’s position
“Bellingham's position has not changed in comparison to the end of last season. He always plays on the left of midfield and I haven't changed his position. Sometimes he comes back down to help play the ball out, but his offensive role is the same. I have to evaluate tomorrow's team to see whether I make changes or not.”
Teamwork
“I'll never tell a player how many goals he has to score because I don't know and neither does he. What I ask from the players is that they give their all for the team. I always focus on working as a team and the players have to think like that. Everyone has their own technical, tactical or motivational qualities and they have to incorporate them into the team.”
Kroos
“The first game went well, but we'll always miss Kroos because he was a special player. Finding another Kroos is impossible and the team has to adapt to something new. It's not a bad thing because if you get too used to things, you might lose motivation. On the other hand, if you put something new in, the players have to think a bit more. That's good for motivation and focus.”
Expectations
“We think about reality, especially the players. They're the ones who play and know when it's difficult to win a match. A match requires quality, commitment and sacrifice. We can't think about what's going to happen in May and what we have to do is work to make it to May by trying to win every game.”
The squad
“The squad is closed and now we have to wait 12 days for it to finish. We don't need centre-backs because Alaba will recover soon and properly. We also have young players ready to play for us. Unfortunately, Joan is out injured, but we also have Jacobo and Asencio. They can make a contribution in some matches.”
Quality of the players
“Mbappé, Vini Jr., Rodrygo and Bellingham have played together for the first time and have not had any difficulty when combining. Good players have that spark and the ability to play with quality. I don't need to try other things because they know how to play together.”
Adaptation of Mbappé
“We try to make sure that all the new players who join Madrid feel comfortable. An extraordinary talent has arrived and we have to help him adapt as quickly as possible. He's serious, modest and has started off very well.”
Planning the season
“We're not thinking about the next season, the 2025/26 season. It may start earlier because there's a World Cup and that's why we're going to assess some things. The players need to rest and have a holiday. We're thinking of allowing individual holidays during the season so that they can rest. A player might not play and go to his family. Especially, we will do this with those who play in national team matches because they're the most affected. They don't have a single day's holiday. We're planning this with the doctors and the staff. It's the only way to do it.”
“For example, Vini goes away with the national team. He plays two games there and when he comes back instead of playing the league game, he rests for three or four days. Usually, the player who comes from international duty doesn't play the next game, but he trains and is in the team set-up. We have to give him three days and let him do what he wants to do.”
Hi ‘honeymoon’ period at the club
“It's the longest in history. It is still the same and I'm very happy. It was hard to imagine the day I arrived here that I could be sitting here three years later with all the trophies we have won. Nobody thought so, not even you did because you don't have a lot of faith.”
Are Real Madrid favourites to win LaLiga?
“Favourites or not, we have to fight against every team in the league. The quality of the Spanish teams is clear. What the Spanish players have managed to achieve at both the European Championship and the Olympic Games speaks volumes. Atlético, Barcelona and ourselves have strengthened our squads. Now we have to prepare properly for the matches against very good players.”
“It's going to be a fun league. I've seen the first few games and they've been great. They've had a lot of action, few fouls, few stoppages and they've been well refereed. We've started well and we have to continue in this direction. The semi-automatic offside system will help us a lot because it makes the refereeing clearer. I hope it will be a fun league, especially for us.”