“The British think they have the strongest championship in the world”

The Real Madrid coach held a traditional pre-match press conference ahead of his team’s trip to Cadiz.

The fight against Cadiz: “It’s a tough match. Gaddis is on a good run. We want to play a good match even if it’s tough.”

Would you trade Holland for Vinicius?
“What a question… They are fantastic players. Everyone benefits from their player. I benefit from the quality of Vinicius and Guardiola from the quality of Holland, each to his own.”

Moving on to the semi-finals: “There is still a long way to go. We have to play one more game and anything can happen. We have the advantage, but we still have to fight for 90 minutes.”

Club Love: “I have nothing to say. Whether it’s the club, the Putragu, or the leader, they show me a lot of affection. There’s nothing to add to what I know, which is to say the affection is extraordinary.”

💬 @MrAncelotti: “Tenemos ganas de hacer un buen partido”.#Cádiz Real Madrid
pic.twitter.com/dIzH90LAXa

— Real Madrid CF (@realmadrid)
April 14, 2023

Vinicius and Cruz are not available: “Vinicius has an adductor overload but he’s not injured. The same with Kroos. It’s a big risk in Tuesday’s game. Some are still tired and traveling. We will provide a competitive team. They will be ready for Chelsea.”

Motivation in La Liga: “We have to prepare well for the game. We have a competition to respect and I think we have to do our best. If we can’t finish first, we will have to fight to the end for second place. They are a team with a good attitude.”

Summary of the season so far: “We’ll have to wait and see. We’ve won a few matches so far. That’s football.”

Justify yourself when faced with criticism: “I listen to criticism, it’s normal. We live in a world where you have to listen to people, your club, your players. Some criticism is understandable, some is not. Critics you understand help you improve.”

Real underrated in the UK: “The truth is that English football has very competitive and very strong teams, that’s why I’m not surprised that they are favourites. The truth is that Europe shows the opposite. Last year, Spanish football had two teams in the semi-finals. This year Italian football has three teams in the quarter-finals, so most people “European football is more competitive than say, especially the English, who think they have the strongest and most exciting championship in the world, but the reality is that in Europe they compete against other teams and against football that has less money to invest, but is just as competitive as Spanish football.”

Camvinga: “Playing at full back helps a lot with his tactical learning. You can put him anywhere, it doesn’t change much. In the future, he’ll be a great center, a great midfielder. When he’s full. Again, he can learn defensive things that will help him in the future.”

Risk Options: “To start the game, I don’t know, he’s good, he has a chance to play.”

ALABA’S PROGRESS: “The performance of the centre-backs improved after the World Cup. Militão and Rudiger did a good job and Alaba was back to his best. The pair of centre-backs, whoever they are, gave us a lot of confidence. We played. More games with more blocks than usual. That’s where The centre-backs have to work hard.”

Benzema’s moment and minutes’ management from Pichichi’s perspective: “We don’t think so. We see that Kareem is fine. He’s one of the better recovered after Wednesday’s effort. It’s true that we can rest him.”

What are you most proud of in your work in Madrid? “I’m proud of everything. It’s been a successful comeback so far. I hope to continue. I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved.”

Florentino’s Support: “I think so. The president has always been very affectionate with me and still is. We have to look to the future. We will be there next season, no doubt, because we are going to honor the contract.”