Carlo Ancelotti and the harsh self-criticism: 'Last season we played without courage'

In a press conference prior to the quarterfinal match against Manchester City, Italian coach Carlos Ancelotti took stock of the expectations ahead of this great confrontation.

The preview of the quarterfinals is served. Two exciting matches will start the day. On the one hand, the Bayern Munich will face Arsenal; on the other, a match that tastes of revenge: Real Madrid vs Manchester City.

Critical

At a press conference, the coach of the “merengue” team was questioned about his preparation for the match, the virtues of his approach and, of course, the difference with respect to the match that, a year ago, the Madrid team ended up losing.

Faced with the pressure generated by a match as important as this one, Carlo Ancelotti He mentioned that nerves are part of his life and that the hours before are the most disturbing.

“Defeat is suffering, victory is happiness? No, it's really a relief. Because the days that follow are calmer. Suffering is part of the job, it keeps you alive, it's gasoline for me,” he mentioned.

One of the most recurring questions about the semifinal match last season of the Champions League It was their decision to experiment with players in positions a little different than what they were used to. When asked if he would do the same this time, the Italian responded with obvious discomfort: “I don't think we'll do strange things, no… It could be… No. You won't miss the alignment, don't worry, it's quite clear.”

Tuesday's game will be very reminiscent of the last game in which the two teams met, in which the “citizens” ended up winning 5 to 1 at the Etihad Stadium in England. Aware of this, the technical director of the “white house” was self-critical: “We played without courage and without personality. It is fundamental in these games. We lacked that in the second leg,” he said.

However, he left that defeat in the past and highlighted the differences that this team has compared to the previous year. He also took the opportunity to highlight the role that a special player had in his approaches: “We have different characteristics with the ball, we had Benzema last year, he was a reference, and now we don't have him. We have handled this absence with more mobility on the front. “attack. And that will be important, not to fix the positions ahead.”

Finally, he referred to his counterpart on the other team, referring to Guardiola as “a great coach, period.” Regarding City's losses, he recognized the ability to replace them. “They have losses, but they have handled their losses well, like us. Guardiola puts centre-backs on the wing and they do it well, they are solid at the back. I don't think it will affect them,” he said.

In the last edition of the European Champions League, the winner was Manchester City who will seek to defend their title this Tuesday against a Real Madrid that is looking for revenge.