Mueez Ajao
– Carlo Ancelotti has claimed that he struggles to understand why so much fuss has been created around Vinicius Junior this season.
– The Italian coach defended his player and stressed that he is not at fault, as the Real Madrid forward has been at the receiving end of criticism by fans and rivals for his attitude on the pitch.
– “The question I ask is: what is the problem: Vinicius, his teammates who don’t defend him [or what]?” Ancelotti wondered.
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– “What does he have to defend himself for, what does one have to defend him for? The problem is what happens around Vinicius.
– “It is a Spanish football issue that we have to solve. Vinicius is not to blame, he is the victim of something that I don’t understand”.
– Real Madrid travelled to Morocco on Monday for the Club World Cup and Ancelotti made clear that his team’s objective is to win the trophy.
– “The Club World Cup is a very important event,” he told the press conference prior the semi-final against Al-Ahly on Wednesday.
– “To be here means you have done very well. There are a lot of Real Madrid fans in this country and we want to give them a joy.
– “It’s a chance to end well what we did last season and build momentum for what’s left this season.”
– Neither Karim Benzema nor Thibaut Courtois will feature on Wednesday, while Ancelotti believes that Los Blancos have not been experiencing a drop in form despite the 1-0 defeat to Real Mallorca on Sunday.
– “The demand is very high,” he added.
– “We have to evaluate everything well. I think the team is growing despite Sunday’s defeat, which hurt. We have had injuries, but not only us, because the schedule is terrible. Our feeling is that we are going to do well.
– “Courtois, Benzema and [Eder] Militao are on the list because we believe they can be here for Saturday’s [final]. We preferred that they stay in Madrid. If they do well, they can be here on Thursday.”
