CarloAncelottiappeared at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas ahead of the match against Barcelona. The coach spoke about theClásico, his team’s third pre-season game: “In the two previous games we’ve played some good football and we also have some things to improve on. It’s an opportunity to get the motor warmed up. We’re doing well and we want to continue in the same vein. We’ll do our best, but we’re playing against a very strong opponent with a lot of quality. The result is the least important thing; the most important thing is to keep progressing. It’s a very demanding test because the opponents are very strong.”
“We did well against Manchester United and we have to be consistent. It’s too early to assess what we’re going to do. We’re doing well, but then comes the season and we need to have continuity, commitment and attitude in every match.”
Absentees for the Clásico” Only Arda is out and he’ll be training at a higher intensity today. The rest are available and are going to play.”
Bellingham”Everyone has their own characteristics and the playmaker of 20 years ago is a very different to the one we know today. The modern player gets forward more often, is physically stronger and also very skillful. He’s a very complete attacking midfielder and he’s adapting very well because his team-mates are helping him a lot.”
“He can play in other positions, like inside with a 4-3-3, either on the right or on the left. There will be games where we will play with that system with a centre forward likeJoselu.”
The system of play”Since we have the two strikers playing deeper, the playmaker will play more thɾօυɢҺ the middle than on the outside. We’re going to push the full-backs further forward. Playing with a diamond formation is to have a more filtered game, with more passing from the middle.”
Strikers”I think we are complete. The new players are doing very well. Brahim and Joseluhave shown that they can contribute to the team offensively. I think the team has a lot of attacking options to give us chances to score goals.”
Dallas AT&T Stadium”The stadium is fantastic. The atmosphere is also fantastic and the weather is good. With the heat outside, it’s good for us to play a game like this on a physical level. The grass isn’t great, but you can play good football and the ball moves well, there’s no bounce. If we don’t play well, it’s not because of the grass.”
Camavinga”He can play in every position in midfield and also at left-back. I wanted to see Tchouameni in midfield, he played both halves of the game at a very high level. That position is very well covered with Tchouameni and Camavinga.”
Kroos and Modrić’s position with Bellingham”With Bellingham we have to wait a bit to see how they adapt, but physically he helps us a lot to press up front. He can also help us put more pressure on the midfield.”
The absence of Benzema”We have fantastic memories of Benzema and what he did here. I shall be forever grateful to him because he gave us the chance to win the Champions League.Real Madridcontinues and has continued without Cristiano, Bale or Casemiro. That’s whyReal Madridis loved by fɑɴȿ all over the world and hopefully tomorrow they can enjoy the quality of the team and its players. Hopefully we can win.”
A Champions League final in the United States?”We’re in a fantastic environment. Soccer has many sporting rivals like the NBA or the NFL. People are very fond of these sports, but the madridistas who are here show us at all times the passion they have forReal Madridwhen we arrive at the hotel and when we go out onto the pitch We’re delighted that fɑɴȿ far from Spain can enjoy the team. A Champions League final here could happen. The stadiums are fantastic and why not?”
The Arab League and MLS”Football, like the rest of the world, is going global. Arab teams are investing a lot of money and they are going to improve, like MLS. On a collective level, European football is more competitive, but in the future everything could even out.”
Mbappé”It doesn’t bother me when you ask me about him, but I’m not going to answer.”
