From Gijón to Riyadh, from Marcelino to Ancelotti: Sacchi's "sick"

• Preview Ancelotti and the debate on the style: "I respect everything. That Madrid plays against? Well delighted"

• Athletic Marcelino's vindication: "We have supreme merit and sometimes it is forgotten in Bilbao"

The turns that football and life take.

stadium

, in

.

hosts

in the

first round of the

.

,

which the following two seasons would win the

consecutively . In Asturias, the Rossoneri already brought together their historical striker,

, and their midfield was governed by a stellar

. Jaime Álvarez scored the only goal of the match and José Novoa, the coach of the

locals, decided to make several changes to balance his team.

Striker Zurdi retired and the midfielder entered

.

And there, face to face on the circle that divided the pitch of El Molinón in two, the two coaches who today, in

, capital of

, will guide their teams in the final of the

.

That tie against Milan is one of the great memories of Marcelino's football career.

He only disputed those

, the round trip against Sacchi's team, who won 3-0 in the second leg played at the stadium

from

.

There a connection was created between the now technician of the

and the Italian team.

"

, say those who know the Asturian best.

Marcelino has seen, studied and analyzed every detail of that team, including the importance of Ancelotti, also a student of Arrigo and now a rival on the bench.

conversation and photo

For this reason, every time Spanish and Italian cross paths, be it in a

, in some

or in the minutes before a match, the star theme is that time and the peculiarities of the world of the ball.

They are two "sick" types of football, although

don't hide your facet

, improved over the years.

Yesterday, before being photographed with the Spanish Super Cup trophy at the

from Riyadh, both

, a few meters away from the photographers and the staff of the Spanish Federation.

Some confidences that denote a mutual admiration that neither hides, although there is no friendship between them.

"It's what they

, jokes a friend of both.

PAUL GARCIA

AFP

"

, although we have not enjoyed it.

I think he's a great coach and playing against him is always complicated", Ancelotti summed up at yesterday's press conference. Their relationship began during the first stage of the transalpine

, between 2013 and 2015, and has been maintained over the years during the meetings they have had.

When they have crossed paths on the benches, the Italian has almost always surpassed the Spanish:

.

The connection is not only between the two, but their coaching staff is also related, they exchange different opinions about

, for example, and there

they confess.

Consequences of sharing the same obsession.

In the white set,

, son and assistant coach of

, lives by and for football and is his father's right hand, who controls the training sessions of the Madrid squad and who reports to Carlo on the latest developments in the world of football.

PAUL GARCIA

AFP

Marcelino's work without work

On Marcellin's side,

, the illusion for the

and the

used in European football remains young.

And as an example, the months before reaching the

.

On September 11, 2019, he was dismissed as coach of the

and on January 3, 2021, more than a year later, he was announced as the new coach of the team

.

15 months

in which he did not stop working despite being on the 'stop' of the benches.

"

count your surroundings.

Analysis and study to be "up to date" when signing your next contract.

That is why, among other things, Athletic chose him.

He knew practically everything about the Bilbao squad even before writing his name on the contract.

That was noticed in the field.

The

, 14 days after starting in Lezama, won the

from Spain.

From there would come the

against Barcelona and Real Sociedad, but now, again in Saudi Arabia, the promised land for García Toral, he returns to a final in search of his third title after the Copa del Rey that he won with Valencia in 2019. All with a

to which he has been faithful for almost his entire career.

The same system, coincidences of life and football, used by his admired

.

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