• Neymar From charging 11 million at the age of 18 to being overshadowed by Mbappé at the gates of the football throne

  • Crosses The round of 16

  • Opinion What if Modric plays Casemiro on Wednesday?

Last summer, on his first day in the sports city of

Valdebebas

after six years,

Carlo Ancelotti

was still amazed by his return to the city of

Madrid

, one of his talismanic places.

"The offer was a surprise, really," he mumbled.

The resounding "yes" with which he responded to

Florentino Pérez and José Ángel Sánchez

returned him to the great stages of world football, to the media spotlight that he seemed to have lost at

Napoli

and

Everton

.

He, who spent two decades among the most successful organizations on the planet:

Juventus, Milan, Chelsea, PSG, Real, Bayern

... He, winner of

three Champions Leagues

.

His closest ones insist on valuing his time in southern

Italy

and

Liverpool

, but the reality is that this tie against

PSG

is Ancelotti's first in the

European Cup

in the last five years.

The Bernabéu punished him in

April 2017

, when he fell to

Bayern

in the quarterfinals, and he did not return.

Five years of competitive drought at the highest level and watching the big games of each season on television.

Something that even him, sick of the ball whoever plays, tired him.

He was going to lead Napoli against Barcelona in the 2020 round of 16, but he was dismissed weeks before the appointment.

For this reason, during these months in which he has been in charge of Madrid, he has highlighted two things: happiness and vindication for being there.

"They think that he is an old man because of his age, but

he has always been at the forefront

", Defends his environment.

«He has always known how to surround himself very well.

He is very intelligent for that », they comment from close to the Madrid dressing room.

Beside him,

Davide

, son and right-hand man,

Antonio Pintus

, physical training sergeant who has avoided the bleeding of injuries that Real Madrid experienced last year, and a coaching staff committed to new technologies.

Madrid, early risers and restaurants

The

media exposure

for a tie that has European football in suspense does not change the plans of the Italian coach: early morning to get to Valdebebas before anyone else, meeting with those closest to him, analysis of the physical situation of his footballers with the doctors, training, quiet chat with the players, "

nothing beyond normal

" so as not to overexcite them, press conference, study of the rival thanks to the videos that Davide has coordinated and return home.

To disconnect, he ends the day having dinner in a

restaurant with his wife

and close friends of his.

"He likes to play host," says a colleague.

He does not hide or avoid greetings

and the curiosity of the people.

"He is one more, he does not ask for a different treatment or the discretion of other soccer stars," explains the waiter of a restaurant that

Carletto

has attended during this winter.

In Spain, Ancelotti has found a

second home

.

A country similar to Italy that he has connected at all levels with his family.

His wife is the daughter of Spaniards, his son is married to a Spanish actress and some of his grandchildren are growing up in Madrid.

"

If it were up to me, I would stay for life

, there is no better place for football and to live", he has repeated on several occasions.

That's why this tie and this season are so important.

"I want to stay here."

That's why he ended the rotations when the team suffered the crisis in the fall.

That is why he is obsessed with winning his first Spanish League.

That is why he mixes mood with claim at press conferences: «Everyone has his opinion of him, there are many buts... We won,

but

, low block,

but

, Benzema marks,

but

, Courtois for a lot,

but

... I think the season has been good, "he claimed yesterday to the press.

Today, against an imposing rival like

Messi, Mbappé and Neymar's PSG

, Ancelotti knows that part of his future is at stake, like any coach of a Madrid where the Champions League is life.

"Whether you win or lose,

the Bernabéu wants a magical night

," they say near the training fields.

Win or lose, but fight, as in the

2020 round of 16 against City

, in which Zidane's team, inferior, stood up until the end.

Adventures in

Serie A

and the

Premier League

have allowed Ancelotti to learn even more and to become obsessed with "

modern football

", something that he has applied at times in Chamartín.

«He is aware and is in favor of the new theories, but

Madrid is Madrid

.

It is not the same, ”some colleagues defend him.

This

modern, physical, vertical and intense pressure football

has been carried out by Madrid in the first part of the season and in the last duel against Real, an example that forces us to think that the Italian will repeat his intentions against PSG.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

Know more

  • Real Madrid

  • Carlo Ancelotti

Champions Real Madrid dies of love against Mbappé

Champions LeagueAl Khelaifi's anger with Madrid after eating with Florentino and Mbappé's great night: "I haven't decided my future"

ChampionsBenzema: "I'm always willing to push for my team"

See links of interest

  • Last News

  • Translator

  • What

  • Work calendar 2022

  • Best Colleges 2022

  • Red Star - Real Madrid

  • Urbas Fuenlabrada - Barca

  • Bitci Baskonia - Anadolu Efes Istanbul

  • Liverpool - International

  • Bayern Munich - Salzburg, live