The Real Madrid coach remembers that there have always been great footballers and he is confident Benzema will get back on his feet
Carlo Ancelotti refuses to debate who is the greatest footballer of all time. Despite the fact that the recent World Cup won by Argentina has overcome much of the restraint that still existed around the figure of Leo Messi, the Italian remembers that all eras have produced great players and that it is not easy to draw comparisons . “It’s kind of hard to say. His career will continue whether he wins a World Cup or not. If it’s the best in history? Well, I don’t know, honestly. In every era there were very strong players, very much. It will not come out of my mouth to say that Messi is the best in history. I enjoy the best, I have seen Maradona, Cruyff, I have not seen Di Stéfano, I train the current Ballon d’Or I don’t know who is the best in history,” said the Real Madrid coach at the press conference he offered on the eve of the game that his team will measure against Valladolid, which corresponds to the fifteenth day of the competition.
The reigning champion is reunited with the competition after a break of more than a month and a half, prompted by the World Cup in Qatar, and does so with the joyful news of the return of Karim Benzema. Lyon’s ‘9’ missed the World Cup due to a minor quadriceps injury in his left leg that Ancelotti has assured he has made a full recovery. “Karim returned on December 10, after the holidays. He was pretty good when he came back. In the first friendly match he played 30 minutes, 45 in the second. He’s doing very well, he’s excited because he couldn’t play much in the first part of the season and he’s going to show his quality,” he said of the striker.
Much has been said these weeks about the confrontation between Benzema and Didier Deschamps, who did not want to wait for him to recover and sent him home without playing a single minute with the French team in the World Cup. Ancelotti did not want to get into controversy with the French coach, but he was happy to see his star in top form. “I am not commenting on the decision France has made. For them, he had no chance to play in the World Cup again and they let him go. He has sent back a player with a lot of motivation. In the first part of the season he didn’t do what he wanted and we are convinced that he will help us a lot in the second part,” he stressed.
Once the big national team tournament was over, the clubs entered uncharted territory with a second part of the season in which the tight schedule and fear of injury dominated the teams’ daily lives. For this reason, Ancelotti is cautious about what is to come. “Evaluating what will happen is complicated. We have a calendar that demands a lot, because we have the Spanish Super Cup, the Club World Cup… Until March there are many matches. We’ll do individual evaluations of the players, that’s the key. Today Tchouaméni, Modric and Camavinga have returned and tomorrow they can play, but they will have to be extensively evaluated later. We will ration who needs rest and who needs work.
This situation opens an opportunity for footballers who have had a few minutes so far like Hazard, whom he considers “better than before the World Cup”, for which he predicted that the Belgian “will be one of the players who will play more in this second part “.
Ancelotti assured that he was unaware of a possible interest from the Brazilian Football Federation for the Italian to take over the reins of the ‘Canarinha’, but closed the door on leaving Real Madrid: “If they are interested, I don’t know because they haven’t contacted me I appreciate it but my situation is pretty clear: I’ll stay here as long as this adventure can continue I won’t be the one to tell Real Madrid I want to leave. This will never happen,” he insisted.
He was not worried about seven players in the Real Madrid squad ending their contracts in the summer as he sees everyone “plugged in”. “If they extend I’m happy and if they think it’s better to leave the club, happy too,” he explained. He praised Endrick, the very young ‘killer’ from Palmeiras who will join Real Madrid in 2024. “I saw him last year, we talked a bit. He is a great talent,” he said of the Brazilian diamond. Noting that there will be no signings in the winter market, although he has left the door open for exits to take place. “Those who play less may have the opportunity to find another team where they can play more the squad is well made and if we compare it to the end of December last year we are better hopefully a second part of the season can be as fantastic as the last one in 2023 be repeated,” he said.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
