Matchday 12
The Real Madrid coach rules out signings in the middle of the season and clarifies that Benzema, down again against Girona, “is still not 100%”
Despite the fact that the recent nationalizations of Militao and Rodrygo leave Real Madrid with free space within its quota of non-EU players, the Chamartín club will not sign in the middle of the season. This was stated by Carlo Ancelotti. “We are not thinking about the winter market, we are not interested in the winter market. This is the squad that will continue until the end of the season, it will not change, “said the Italian coach in the preview of the duel that will measure his team with Girona at the Santiago Bernabéu, corresponding to the twelfth day of the League .
A match in which the Whites will try to maintain their undefeated character in the regular tournament and will seek to turn the page on the defeat suffered on Tuesday in the Champions League against Leipzig, the first in a nearly perfect season so far. «The team is well, motivated. After Leipzig we want to win. We’re going to get almost all the players back, Modric, Ceballos, Valverde, Mariano… We’re not going to get Karim back, it’s still a bit early. Rodrygo had a little problem tonight, he hasn’t trained but he’ll be there tomorrow,” said the Real Madrid coach after the Brazilian attacker suffered a stomach problem last night that prevented him from jumping to the training camps in the city this Saturday. Sports of Valdebebas.
Ancelotti explained the situation of Benzema, who will miss his third consecutive match due to what Real Madrid, in the medical report published last week, defined as muscular fatigue in the quadriceps of his left leg. «Yesterday he trained and after training he was not comfortable. He took a test and everything went well, he doesn’t have any kind of problem. We have to take into account the feeling of the player. He is not 100% yet », pointed out the Reggiolo coach, who seemed happy, however, with the return of Valverde when asked if the Uruguayan is the best midfielder in the world at the moment. “Uh! I don’t know. One of the best, for sure. He has shown great quality. It is a bit of a surprise for the entire football world to see such a complete midfielder,” he said.
He analyzed what happened during the week in Germany. “We have evaluated what has happened. It hasn’t been a problem of attitude, but of positioning from set pieces, where we tend to be more forceful. From there, to think about these games until the break to get the best. We want to arrive in a good position », dissected Ancelotti, who sees his pupils very involved despite the proximity of the World Cup in Qatar. “The team is focused. There is a World Cup close, but the players don’t talk about it. Everyone wants to play and be available. I do not see mental casualties in this regard. This team always shows its face and never gives up, and I think the same will happen in these four games », he emphasized.
The Barça, rival until the end
He stopped in the role of Camavinga, until now more important when he has left the bench. “I think he makes more of a difference from the bench because the game is more open and he can show off his qualities more. It’s not his fault. It is not that he plays worse when the game starts, but that it is different because less can be shown when there are fewer spaces. In open games he makes more of a difference », said the Real Madrid coach, attentive to addressing any doubts about the young French midfielder. «I want to be clear: what I have said is that, when the game is open, he shows more for his qualities, but that does not mean that he is not doing well when he starts. He is less positional than Kroos, for example. He doesn’t have the Kroos reading, obviously, but each one has the individual characteristics of him. Modric isn’t always the starter, Kroos isn’t always the starter, Tchouaméni isn’t always the starter… Having said that, it’s satisfying and exciting to have a player like that. At his age, with such quality, there are not many in Europe,” he added.
He valued Girona, despite the fact that the Catalan team is in relegation positions. “He plays football well. He likes to have the ball and he has a good offensive organization. We have to defend well because they handle the ball well », he commented on Míchel’s squad, which includes two players who are still on Real Madrid’s radar: Miguel Gutiérrez and Reinier.
«What happened with Miguel is that the season started last year because we had the losses of Mendy and Marcelo. He joined the first team and did well. He is a player, like others, whom we are evaluating for the future. We have ceded him, if he does well he can come back », he said about the left back. «He has quality, he did the preseason with us. Until now he has not been able to show his best level, but there are players who are able to show it before because of a matter of character. There are many examples of players who have given the best version of themselves at 30 or 28. He has the quality to play in a high-level team », he elaborated on the Brazilian midfielder.
He assured, finally, that he sees Barcelona fighting until the end for the League, regardless of the elimination of the azulgranas in the Champions League. «I have no idea if it will affect it or not, but I am clear that it will be a rival until the end to win the League. It’s very clear to me. During the season there are good and bad moments, casualties… But I am clear that it will be a fight to the end with them to win the League », he stressed.
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