Ancelotti: “It’s difficult to be Vinícius”

The Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, has assured that it is “difficult” to be Vinícius and has reiterated that the card he saw in Mestalla was “yellow, not red”, in addition to confirming that the Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and the German defender Antonio Rüdiger will not travel to Cartagonova to face the Copa del Rey round of 32 match against Deportiva Minera.

“I’m not in his shoes, but I think it’s hard to be him. If I get into his skin, it’s hard to put up with everything that’s happened, everything that happens with the insults. He tries to improve and hold on. Obviously, he’s sad for the red one has apologized, but we have to look forward,” he declared at a press conference, stating that the forward did not deserve the expulsion against Valencia. “We are convinced that it was not red, it was yellow. We hope that he does not lose games,” he said.

However, he did not want to talk about the Brazilian’s gestures to the Mestalla stands, assuring that the ‘che’ team will be relegated to the Second Division. “I have not seen what he has done. I see what has happened and what is happening in the stadiums and I think that in these times his attitude has improved a lot. He can improve more, but nobody is perfect. He is doing a lot of work with this and “He has improved a lot, so much so that he is the best player in the world,” he said.

In another order of things, the Italian coach pointed out that they face the Copa del Rey “with the same enthusiasm as always.” “It is an important competition that has given us a lot of happiness in recent years. It comes at a time of the season that is not the most appropriate, but we are going to respect the rival, the shirt and the competition. We will try to get the best and try to pass the tie,” he said.

He also confirmed who will be resting and not traveling to Cartagena. “Those who are not traveling are Courtois and Rüdiger, who stay here. The others all travel and they can all play, taking into account that we have played a match recently and that some will be tired. I want to give minutes to others who have played a little less,” he said.

Although he revealed that Andriy Lunin will be the starter between the sticks, he did not confirm the Ukrainian as the exclusive goalkeeper of the Cup. “I have not considered the problem. Tomorrow Lunin is going to play because Courtois needs to rest and recover well. It could be that also play in LaLiga or the Champions League, it is not defined that Lunin will only play in the Copa del Rey,” he explained.

Although it comes at an intense moment in the season, Ancelotti believes that the cup tournament excites the team. “I think the Copa del Rey is not going to be a problem as long as you are in the Copa del Rey; when you are left out, it will be a problem. Real Madrid tries to fight in all the competitions. The last two years this competition went well for us “It was very nice to play in the final. The goal is to reach the final, as always,” he stressed.

He also seemed “a little calmer” that the game will be played in a professional soccer stadium like Cartagonova. “The grass is good. There is less probability of having problems and the fans can enjoy a good game. We will try to play a good game. The time of year is not the most suitable because it is cold,” he said.

On the other hand, the Madrid coach acknowledged that they will have to have more communication regarding the taking of penalties, after Englishman Jude Bellingham missed another against Valencia. “What I didn’t like is that we failed; if they had scored, there would be no problem. I want to clarify the issue, also for us. When there is a penalty, I don’t know who is going to take it. I am going to clarify it every game before the game “It can be Vinícius, it can be Bellingham, it can be Mbappé, it can be Modric, it can be Arda Güler…”, he listed.

“The penalty is a technical aspect that is very complicated to work on; there is a good taker, one who may be better than another, but what changes completely within a match is the atmosphere, and I cannot reproduce in training the atmosphere of a stadium,” he said about a possible resolution of the tie from eleven meters.

Finally, Ancelotti spoke about Bellingham’s change of position. “What has changed is the position without the ball, which is a little more central compared to last year. In the last period we have chosen to have him defensively in a more central position, as a playmaker. The team has handled the change well and with the ball absolutely nothing has changed,” he concluded.