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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.
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