The present and the future, the national team and Serie A, the pleasure of coaching and the goals with Real. Carlo Ancelotti gives himself up to the microphones of Radio TV Serie A with RDS for a long “transversal” chat, where he touches on many topics, starting from the fight for the Scudetto in Italy. “Who will win? I don’t know – the words of Ancelotti – There are 4 teams in the front row which are Napoli, Milan, Inter and Juve, and then a group in the second row who will try to stay with the first ones like Roma, Lazio, Atalanta and Fiorentina who can have a good championship”.
But be especially careful of Juve, faced in the pre-season in the USA, who "by not playing in European competitions can be a dangerous team. Not playing the Champions League takes away but it's one thing to prepare a match every three days, another thing to prepare a match a week". In Ancelotti's heart there is always Milan, last year they reached the semi-final of the Champions League, but thinking that they can improve on that result is "difficult because the economic aspect is very important. You find yourself competing with teams that have much greater economic potential than yours so you can't buy the best players on the market, you have to do much more long-term planning".
“Milan,” Ancelotti continues, “have signed good players, have improved the quality of the squad but competing at the highest levels in Europe is difficult. Maldini’s farewell? As a Milan fan, the disappointment for his exit from the club is great, but with knowledge, experience and seriousness he can do anything in the future.” From Milan to Napoli, another team coached by Ancelotti, it’s a short step. “What didn’t work? What happens when there is no relationship of trust between coach, club and team happened and when this happens it’s better to say goodbye. These things happen.”
Napoli then won the Scudetto led by Osimhen, "one of the strongest strikers in Europe - the Emilian coach acknowledges - Did Real ever think about it? No, we thought with the club that with Bellingham we could overcome Benzema's absence without creating too many dualisms". And the coach who brought the Scudetto back to Napoli after a 33-year wait was chosen to succeed Mancini at the helm of the national team. "Spalletti has the experience and knowledge to fight for qualification for the European Championships and the World Cup", Ancelotti assures.
For whom the issue of the clause is a waste of time: "If he sits on the bench of the national team it is because he has signed a contract and can do it. He has a big goal which is to lift up an Italy that has had difficulties with the failure to qualify for the World Cup and it will not be easy, in the last period there has been a lack of quality, of high-level players, even if now some interesting players are coming out: let's hope he manages to build a competitive national team. Why have I never coached the national team? Because I like coaching day by day. I still have fun, I like being with the players, finding new solutions. I have set a date for the retreat, July 1, I still have to decide the year. Then I will be a husband, a grandfather and a tourist". No Saudi Arabia for him: "I have never had any direct offers, also because I am happy here and the whole world knows it".
Article published on 23 August 2023 - 21:49
