Real Madrid News
Ancelotti talks Benzema, Courtois, Mbappe, Vinicius, Man City, ahead of Elche vs Real Madrid
Real Madrid will look to stretch their lead at the top of the La Liga table to six points when they take on Elche away from home on Wednesday night.
Los Blancos reclaimed the top spot in the standings when they beat Barcelona 3-1 at the Bernabeu on Sunday afternoon. They now have a three-point advantage over their arch-rivals and can widen the gap to six, considering Barça will be playing only on Thursday.
Ahead of the game, Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the media during which he talked about the La Liga title race as well as Karim Benzema’s Ballon d’Or triumph, among other topics.
On preparations against Elche: “The preparation for the match, especially on a mental level, we have to push it a little more. It is normal to have a maximum concentration in high-level matches and it is a little more difficult to have it after a match that has cost you physically and mentally.
“We take that into account, knowing that we play for the same three points tomorrow that we won on Sunday.”
On Thibaut Courtois: “Tomorrow he will not be available. He is training normally and doing a good job. I think he will reappear on Saturday.”
On the Ballon d’Or gala: “We are very proud of what Benzema and Courtois have achieved. Modric and Vinicius have stayed close as well. I also want to congratulate Gavi, Alexia Putellas, Lewandowski, and Mané… And Manchester City. They had a fantastic season. We have a lot of respect for them.”
On whether he expected such a successful year: “No, I didn’t think so. What we have achieved so far has been very good. As I said, the fact of working at this club means that it can happen to you.
“There is everything you need to be successful: history, tradition, competition, the quality of the players, the atmosphere… But at the beginning of last season, I had many more doubts than now.”
On Iker Bravo: “He’s doing well with Castilla. We needed him today for training but tomorrow he won’t travel with us, he’ll stay with Castilla.”
On the Kylian Mbappe links: “I don’t know what the future is. I don’t know what can happen. The future of this club and this team is already written; I already said it last year. We have young players like Vinicius, Rodrygo, Camavinga, Tchouaméni, Valverde, Militao…
“They have already written the future of this team. The players change, surely next year’s squad will not be the same as this one, but these players have already designed the future of Real Madrid.”
On Vinicius finishing eighth in Ballon d’Or rankings: “I think so, that it is fair because this allows him to try to improve what he did last year, in which it was almost all new for everyone to see him with that continuity and quality. It will motivate him to do better.”
On Karim Benzema’s Ballon d’Or triumph: “We are very happy. We feel a bit of it. He has said that he is very proud of this award, he has also thanked all his teammates because that is what it is, an individual award thanks to the help of a team.
“We all congratulated him. It’s done, we have to think about the next one, and he can start tomorrow.”
On the changes in Benzema’s game: “Surely he has much more responsibility and feels much more like a leader in this team than he did eight years ago. He hasn’t changed much technically, his quality is the same. What has changed is his responsibility and his attitude towards the team, being much more of a leader.”
On Manchester City being voted the best team ahead of Real Madrid: “I don’t know the criteria. I think they don’t talk about teams because the best was Real Madrid, who won the Champions League. At the club level, I don’t know the criteria.
“It was very difficult for us to beat them in the semifinals. It was for a few details, and they won the Premier League. We have the utmost respect for this award, but we received the highest in May.”
On the keys to his success at Real Madrid: “The personal relationship is very important. With the professional aspect, in my opinion, you can get 100% from a footballer, with the personal you can get a little more.”
On being called a ‘Cholista’ (playing like Atletico): “It’s a compliment. I saw Atlético against Athletic and it was a very entertaining game. After the game, I heard Simeone say that he was moved, and I agree. If they say that Real Madrid is Cholista, it’s a compliment.”
On Courtois’ Ballon d’Or ranking: “The striker who scores goals always stands out. That a goalkeeper has reached the seventh position is a good thing. I was never close to winning an individual title.
“It surprises me that some of our players like Kroos, Valverde, Militao or Alaba are not among the 30 finalists. Someone might think I have a conflict of interest. It’s true, I do.”
Source: SPORT
The current edition of the Real Madrid squad is full of young talents, who have shown remarkable potential in recent years.
Arda Guler is among the young players looking to make a mark in European football in the years to come.
The young Turk joined Real Madrid earlier this summer, rejecting many other European giants in the process.
Toni Kroos mentoring Guler at Real Madrid
Guler has not enjoyed the best of starts to his life at Santiago Bernabeu, as he is spending a brief time on the sidelines due to an injury.
However, Guler has not stopped working on his characteristics, as he looks to kickstart his Real Madrid career on a positive note.
To that end, the former Fenerbahce starlet is receiving some key support from one of Real Madrid’s midfield pillars in the form of Toni Kroos.
This is according to MARCA, which suggests that the German international is mentoring Guler in his early days at Santiago Bernabeu.
Kroos: huge ‘sponsor’ of Guler
The report highlights how Toni Kroos is a huge admirer of Arda Guler. The German had even heaped praise on the youngster from Turkey when he joined the club earlier in the summer.
Guler, therefore, is closely training with Kroos, whose years of experience, composure, and knowledge of football, could help the youngster grow at Santiago Bernabeu.
This fits in well with Carlo Ancelotti’s vision at Real Madrid, as the Italian boss wants youngsters to have room to grow, especially with guidance from some of the older guards in the team.
It is one of the key reasons Real Madrid wanted to stick to Kroos and Luka Modric, despite bringing in Arda Guler and Jude Bellingham in the summer.
Guler, therefore, has the stage set for him to start his Real Madrid career on a strong note. After impressing in training, the next step for the youngster is to make a promising debut, which is just around the corner.
