Ancelotti: “The cup is a major competition for us and and we have to approach it with quality, commitment and fight”
'The fans are always near to us, it was a good atmosphere in training and we're excited', added the coach.
Carlo Ancelotti spoke in the press room at Real Madrid City on the day before Real Madrid's Copa del Rey last 32 tie away to Cacereño Tuesday, 9pm CET. The coach shared his thoughts on the match: 'We have to be smart in this game. It can become difficult if you believe that you can win games with quality alone. There also has to be commitment and fight. The cup is a major competition and we have to give our all: quality, commitment and fight'.
'Courtois and Carvajal have had minor niggles. They will be rested tomorrow and should be available for Villarreal. Benzema, Vini Jr, Kroos, Alaba and Mendy won't be getting any minutes either. We'll be looking to put in the best possible performance. We will also take the academy players Arribas, Nico Paz, Marvel and Álvaro Rodríguez tomorrow. They're playing very well with Castilla, where Raúl is doing a very good job. The youngsters are making very fast progress and not just these four, but also the likes of Mario Martín, Rafa Marín... The youth academy is producing players for the future of Real Madrid'.
The Copa del Rey
'I've won it once and that shows you that it's an important competition for us. It's not the most important, that's the Champions League. Wearing the badge on this jersey means you have to respect every competition and win as many as you can. We have to look to win it'.
The bus trip to Cáceres
'I really like travelling by bus and I'm really happy to travel this way. I don't know Spain as well as Italy and it's a chance to enjoy this marvellous country'.
Training in front of the fans
'It was a good atmosphere. We can only do it once a year for security reasons, but it's very nice and we're excited to do so. It's always early in the new year and the fans are always near us. It's an important part of what we do. It's a special time for us and for the fans'.
The difficult fixture list
'It's tough, but we've got the resources necessary to cope with it: all the data, the coaching staff with a lot of people, physios, doctors... I believe we can manage it very well, taking into account that the matches also help to improve the players' fitness'.
'Courtois and Carvajal have had minor niggles. They will be rested tomorrow and should be available for Villarreal. Benzema, Vini Jr, Kroos, Alaba and Mendy won't be getting any minutes either. We'll be looking to put in the best possible performance. We will also take the academy players Arribas, Nico Paz, Marvel and Álvaro Rodríguez tomorrow. They're playing very well with Castilla, where Raúl is doing a very good job. The youngsters are making very fast progress and not just these four, but also the likes of Mario Martín, Rafa Marín... The youth academy is producing players for the future of Real Madrid'.
The Copa del Rey
'I've won it once and that shows you that it's an important competition for us. It's not the most important, that's the Champions League. Wearing the badge on this jersey means you have to respect every competition and win as many as you can. We have to look to win it'.
The bus trip to Cáceres
'I really like travelling by bus and I'm really happy to travel this way. I don't know Spain as well as Italy and it's a chance to enjoy this marvellous country'.
Training in front of the fans
'It was a good atmosphere. We can only do it once a year for security reasons, but it's very nice and we're excited to do so. It's always early in the new year and the fans are always near us. It's an important part of what we do. It's a special time for us and for the fans'.
The difficult fixture list
'It's tough, but we've got the resources necessary to cope with it: all the data, the coaching staff with a lot of people, physios, doctors... I believe we can manage it very well, taking into account that the matches also help to improve the players' fitness'.
Vini Jr. and racism
'I don't need to talk to him about it. It's a pretty straightforward subject. There shouldn't be racism or xenophobia. If we think otherwise, we are wrong. It's a problem within society and there should be zero tolerance for it. It isn't the league's problem, but rather a general and cultural problem within a society that lacks the education it should have. We need to focus on something bigger than Vini Jr., the league or sanctions'.
The break before Christmas
'This stoppage wasn't like the one in 2014. I don't know what will happen in 2023, I'm not a magician, hopefully we'll do well and it'll be like 2022. It wouldn't be bad. I don't want to think that what we did last year is unrepeatable. It can be repeated and, why not, improved. We have fewer doubts about this squad than we had at this stage in 2022'.
Kroos' contract renewal
'He's quite sure about it and will be very clear in the next month. It's impossible as a football fan to imagine that he's going to retire. He has said that he wants to end his career at Real Madrid and so I think he'll carry on'.
Ceballos
'I'm not involved in contract renewals. He's doing well and the contract situation is something personal, something that the player has to address together with the club'.
Players coming to the end of their contract
'We don't have any problems with this. The players are concentrating on what they're doing. When a player comes to the end of their contract it's not as worrying as it was years ago. If they want to stay they'll stay and if they want to leave they'll go. Clubs aren't as worried about it either'.
'I don't need to talk to him about it. It's a pretty straightforward subject. There shouldn't be racism or xenophobia. If we think otherwise, we are wrong. It's a problem within society and there should be zero tolerance for it. It isn't the league's problem, but rather a general and cultural problem within a society that lacks the education it should have. We need to focus on something bigger than Vini Jr., the league or sanctions'.
The break before Christmas
'This stoppage wasn't like the one in 2014. I don't know what will happen in 2023, I'm not a magician, hopefully we'll do well and it'll be like 2022. It wouldn't be bad. I don't want to think that what we did last year is unrepeatable. It can be repeated and, why not, improved. We have fewer doubts about this squad than we had at this stage in 2022'.
Kroos' contract renewal
'He's quite sure about it and will be very clear in the next month. It's impossible as a football fan to imagine that he's going to retire. He has said that he wants to end his career at Real Madrid and so I think he'll carry on'.
Ceballos
'I'm not involved in contract renewals. He's doing well and the contract situation is something personal, something that the player has to address together with the club'.
Players coming to the end of their contract
'We don't have any problems with this. The players are concentrating on what they're doing. When a player comes to the end of their contract it's not as worrying as it was years ago. If they want to stay they'll stay and if they want to leave they'll go. Clubs aren't as worried about it either'.