Real Madrid News
Carlo Ancelotti ready to commit to Real Madrid amid Brazil rumours
Real Madrid managed to restore their lost glory last season by securing the UEFA Champions League along with La Liga, much thanks to the man-management of Carlo Ancelotti, who has steadied the ship well since the departure of Zinedine Zidane.
However, there have been doubts over the Italian’s long-term future at Santiago Bernabeu lately, especially with his contract expiring in 2024.
In fact, Ancelotti has become the subject of fresh rumours linking him to a Brazilian job, following the Selecao‘s early elimination at the hands of Croatia in the FIFA World Cup. Many reports suggest that the coach had been approached by the Brazilian FA as the direct replacement for Tite.
But in a recent report, Mario Cortegana (h/t Madrid Xtra) has confirmed that Ancelotti is delighted with his life at Real Madrid for the time being. The Italian has enjoyed relative success upon his return to the Bernabeu, having secured a double last season and winning 55 out of the 77 matches in all competitions.
Cortegana further suggests that Ancelotti’s desire is to remain at Real Madrid until his contract expires in 2024. This refutes earlier claims about the Italian being open to the Brazilian job.
In case Brazilian FA do want to rope in Ancelotti after the World Cup, they must negotiate with Real Madrid over the release of the seasoned coach.
Real Madrid, for their part, might not rule out the possibility of Ancelotti’s departure in 2023 either, especially if the Italian fails to deliver the goods in the domestic competitions this season or faces an early elimination from the Champions League.
The reigning European champions are poised to face Liverpool in the Round of 16 stage of the UCL, whereas they are currently second in the league table, only two points behind league leaders at FC Barcelona.
In what could be a real deal breaker for Real Madrid ahead of their Copa del Rey semi-final second leg clash against Barcelona, it has been revealed that as many as three Barça will be absent from the game while another key player remains a major doubt.
The list includes the likes of Pedri, Ousmane Dembele and Andreas Christensen. The trio is certain to miss the game through respective injuries while a certain Frenkie de Jong is more or less ruled out, as per Javi Miguel.
It must be remembered that Barcelona are heading into the second leg with a 1-0 advantage. But the absence of the aforementioned players means Madrid can work on exploiting the frailties.
Despite the absence of such big names, Barcelona did pretty well against Elche in their previous outing, coming out 4-0 victorious, with the goals coming from Robert Lewandowski, Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres.
With options lacking in midfield, Xavi decided to use the likes of Sergi Roberto and Eric Garcia along with Gavi in the heart of the lineup. In any way, they do have Sergio Busquets and Franck Kessie as backups if needed.
The defence, on the other hand, was perfectly guarded by Jordi Alba, Marcos Alonso, Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde.
One can expect Xavi to once again interchange Araujo with Kounde on the right since the Uruguayan has been rather successful in minimizing the threat of Vinicius Jr.
As far as Madrid are concerned, they are sweating over the fitness of three key defenders, namely, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho, and Ferland Mendy. Between these three, the Frenchman is out for about a month while Rudiger and Nacho are expected to be back before the Clasico.
If there are no casualties against Real Valladolid, Madrid will have a perfect midfield and attack, with only Mariano Diaz missing.
