At 62, Carlo Ancelotti is an old veteran among the coaches qualified in the European top 8: the Italian technician with three coronations in C1 is the oldest on the board, facing the fifties Pep Guardiola (51), Diego Simeone (51 ), Unai Emery (50) and Jürgen Klopp (54), facing Tuchel (48), or facing the representatives of the new wave of European benches, Nelson Verissimo (44) or Julian Nagelsmann (34).
Real Madrid of “Carletto” impressed in the first leg at Stamford Bridge and enters the second leg on Tuesday at Santiago-Bernabéu with a good advantage acquired thanks to a hat-trick from Karim Benzema, as against PSG of Pochettino (50 years old) in eighth return (3-1).
If Chelsea’s individual errors also helped, the Spanish journalists had underlined in the post-match press conference the judicious choice to start Federico Valverde on the right, rather than Rodrygo.
Certainly less prominent than his right counterpart Vinicius Jr, who hit the crossbar and delivered a decisive pass, the Uruguayan displayed an overflowing activity, both as a winger and a midfielder, upsetting the Blues’ attacking circuits.
“We played with the same system, but I had Valverde to muzzle Chelsea’s left wing a bit,” said Ancelotti. “Valverde has been very good. It all depended on the position (left piston Cesar) Azpilicueta. If he stayed back, Valverde had to go up, ”he detailed.
“Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m wrong”
A self-satisfaction all the more legitimate since the Italian also knows how to make his self-criticism very well, as after the clasico lost in March against Barcelona (4-0).
“I have no problem taking responsibility for this rout. We played very badly, I prepared very badly for the match, ”he admitted bluntly. But it is for his round and conciliatory method, already crowned with success in 2014 with a coronation in the Champions League on the Madrid bench, that Real returned to seek him last summer to succeed Zinédine Zidane.
“I talk about football with the players, to understand what they think and what they like. But then I make the decisions. Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m wrong, ”he summed up last week, from the top of his very great experience.
If Madrid manages to climb into the last four again, the story will be good for the Italian, well ahead of La Liga and on the verge of becoming the first coach to win the 5 major European championships.
An almost unexpected return to the forefront for the 62-year-old technician who seemed to have lost track after his first stint in the Spanish capital (2013-2015), from where he was curtly sacked, barely a year after winning the “Decima”, the 10th C1 in Madrid history.
Time for revenge for Real
A short stint at Bayern Munich (2016-2017), then in Naples (2018-2019) and an attempt to revive with Everton (2019-2021), a club of very low standing, raised fears of a slow decline. Until his return to Madrid.
Will he still be part of the project next year, when the club does not hide its intention to renew its workforce this summer with prestigious signings? Ancelotti, under contract until 2024, is doing everything for it, despite recent criticism from the lost clasico.
The former AC Milan or Juventus is used to flammable contexts, a quality that could inspire Tuchel, facing a unique season after British sanctions targeting Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
Seizing revenge on the reigning European champions, who ousted Real in the semi-finals last year, on Tuesday would make Ancelotti’s season a success, even if the eyebrow-raised Italian knows football too well to ‘ignite.
“We clearly have an advantage, but the confrontation is still open,” he warned.
Benzema, the ultimate striker
Ancelotti: “In the past, attackers stayed in the box to push the ball deep as soon as possible. Today, they must do more. Modern attackers have to attack the defence, they have to fight. In my opinion, Karim is the ultimate modern striker”.
Casemiro: “You only see him 90 minutes on the pitch, the goals he scores, but we are together all the time. In training, every day, we are always so impressed. He is part of the club’s history and it is an honor to be his teammates. He’s an incredible player. He is a historical player and currently perhaps our most important player”.
Bayern want to ‘punish’ Villarreal
Jostled in the first leg to Villarreal (1-0), Bayern Munich wants to “punish” the Spaniards in the Champions League quarter-final second leg tonight (9:00 p.m.), to avoid the cruel disappointment of an elimination against a presumed opponent weaker.
The Bavarians can count themselves lucky not to have conceded three or four goals, given the superiority and the number of missed chances of the team of the crafty Unai Emery.
“We made a lot of mistakes on the first leg. They did one: let us live. And we have to punish them for that, ”said coach Julian Nagelsmann on Monday.
Asked about the reasons to believe it, captain Manuel Neuer spoke in a pre-match press conference about “the will” of Bayern. “We have character in this team, a lot of pride,” he said, “when we lost a first leg, you shouldn’t joke with us.”
Against Villarreal, who only reached the last four of the Champions League once (in 2006, beaten by Arsenal), the Germans with six European titles nevertheless remain favorites.
In the previous round against Salzburg, they had already come through in the first leg, snatching a 1-1 draw in the dying seconds in Austria. Before rolling their opponents 7-1 at the Allianz Arena.