Ancelotti: ‘I’m grateful for the criticism, it keeps me alert’

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Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the media again on Saturday lunchtime during his pre-match press conference ahead of Granada’s game on Sunday. The focus, however, was on Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey elimination midweek in Bilbao.

The Italian was asked about the criticism he has received since then and whether he feels it is right for him to receive so much blame for the cup exit. He replied: “I am used to this kind of moments. I’m so motivated to coach Real Madrid that criticism is welcome. It keeps me alert. The review makes me think more too, so I’m grateful for the review. It keeps me alive!

One of the criticisms concerns Ancelotti’s lack of rotation and his unwillingness to make the most of Los Blancos’ squad depth. To this he replied: “I am the coach of Real Madrid and the coach of Real Madrid always has to make the decisions, some of which are good and some of them are bad. It’s normal. It’s nothing new. “If I give players the opportunity then they will play. But it’s a decision I have to make regarding the starting XI. While it’s true that I used mostly the same players, some players weren’t ready to play. I think I managed the team well because I see the players every day.

He also dismissed the suggestion that the team are tired, saying: “I think the team is good physically. We finished the game well at San Mamés. Apart from injuries to Benzema, Mendy and Mariano, the team is in good health. I think we will soon go through this complicated period of absences.

Karim Benzema remains out for the game against Granada and the coach gave an update on the Frenchman saying: “He’s out of this game. He’s improved, but he’s still not 100%. It will take so wait a few more days to see if he will be available for the next game after this one. He is the Pichichi of La Liga, so we are missing a player who scores a lot of goals. Every club has their Benzema, who really miss when this player is absent.But we also won games without Benzema, like Real Sociedad and Inter.

Ancelotti on Hazard’s lack of minutes

It wouldn’t be a Real Madrid press conference without a question about Eden Hazard, with the coach asking why the Belgian played so little. Ancelotti responded by saying: “He’s good and training well in all sessions, but then there are the decisions I have to make to come up with the best line-up. If Hazard doesn’t play, it’s because I prefer someone else is playing. Remember, though, that he’s played a few games too. But, it’s nothing personal and it’s nothing physical.

Ancelotti on Bale laughing on the bench

On Thursday night, footage from El Chiringuito showed Bale laughing on the bench when Hazard was asked to warm up and then sit down. On this, Ancelotti said: “I didn’t see that. I don’t know why Bale would have laughed. This does not seem to me to be an important situation. This is quite normal, since only three players can warm up at the same time. It is the rule. So sometimes a player warms up for a while and then sits down.

Ancelotti on Vinícius’ departure against Athletic

The last question from the Copa del Rey autopsy was about the decision to start Vinícius, even though he had just returned from Brazil. Here, Ancelotti admitted it could have been a mistake. He said: “I risked a bit with Vinícius because I could have put him in the second half. People can think what they want about it. But I don’t think there’s much to it. say about the other decisions I made. With the centre-forward decision, first I wanted pace and then I wanted to introduce Isco.

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