January 02 News Real Madrid coach Ancelotti attended the meeting with Caceres
Pre-match press conference
Vinicius once again encountered racism at Valladolid’s home court. Usually you still tell him to focus on the game and don’t care about these off-field things?
No, I don’t need to say that, I don’t think I need to discuss this topic because racism should not exist.
I think these racist attacks on Vinicius are a problem with our education, it’s a problem with society and we should have zero tolerance for that.
Before the Copa del Rey match last year, you said that this kind of match is not a contest of strength, but to see who works harder. What about tomorrow?
Tomorrow’s game is a game that we need to prepare for, because winning does not only depend on strength, but also requires our dedication, hard work and struggle.
Events like the Copa del Rey are very important to us, we need to go all out, strength and hard work are indispensable.
Now Real Madrid is about to enter a three-month double match. At this time, some players in the team have just participated in the World Cup, and the other part has not. How to adjust and match the two groups of players?
Yes, it’s complicated, but we have a wealth of resources, we have relevant data, and we have a lot of people who give us player information.
It’s a new situation, but I believe we can handle it well and the players will get better as they play.
Ceballos started the last game, do you want Ceballos to renew his contract?
I still say the same thing, I don’t get involved in players’ contract renewals. Of course, Ceballos himself is very focused and full of fighting spirit.
But the issue of the contract, which is the player’s own problem, needs to be analyzed and resolved by him and the club.
Regarding Kroos’ question, you said that it is impossible for him to retire now in his state, so based on your experience, how do you think Kroos will choose?
I think Kroos will make a clear decision next month. There is no doubt that, as I said, no fan can believe that Kroos will choose to retire now, and he also said that he hopes to be able to play in Real Madrid.
After retiring, I hope he can continue to play for Real Madrid.
Do you think the tournament organizers and clubs should take more measures regarding Vinicius?
I don’t want to discuss this topic, and I don’t think this can be solved by Laliga punishment or something, it’s a social problem, it’s a cultural problem, for me it’s an education problem, that’s all.
I don’t want to focus such a big problem on Vinicius, Laliga or penalties. This is a bigger problem, a more serious problem.
Tomorrow’s Copa del Rey, Real Madrid will take the bus to the away game. This should be a relatively rare experience for the team. What do you think of the 300-kilometer drive?
(laughs) I really like taking the bus, because I can see the scenery on the bus, and I am not very familiar with Spain, so I can learn more about Spain through this journey.
In the past 30 years, Real Madrid has won 3 Copa del Rey. Although it has been said that the Copa del Rey is very important to Real Madrid, it seems that the data in it…
At least one of them was won by me, which shows that the Copa del Rey is very difficult.
The Copa del Rey is definitely not the most important event for us, the most important thing is the Champions League.
But wearing a Real Madrid jersey, what we have to do is to fight for every championship.
The same is true for the Copa del Rey this season, we have to work hard for it.
When you coached Real Madrid last time, Real Madrid had a winning streak in the 14-15 season, and the team experienced a downturn after Christmas.
After this experience, how do you think you should deal with Christmas + World Cup this time?
Yes, fortunately this Christmas is different from the one in 2014.
But I don’t know that 2023 will be like this because I’m not a magician, but I hope 2023 will be like 2022, which is what we need to do.
I don’t think 2022 is irreproducible, I think we can do it again and do it better, and like I said, the roster this season is less questionable than it was last season.