Ancelotti: "I've got a group of players with a very high level of collective commitment"

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti addressed the media in an online press conference in the build-up to Wednesday’s LaLiga Matchday 11 meeting with Osasuna (9:30pm CET) and he previewed the game in the following terms: “I've got a group of players with a very high level of collective commitment. Football is now more positional than it was before, but creativity is what really sets you apart and I have a very creative group of players. That's why that's the area that I focus on the least”.

“Osasuna are a good side and they're in good form. They play high-intensity football and defend well. They're dangerous in and around the box and the league table says it all. They’re performing very well and we'll have to prepare for it properly because it could prove to be a tough game”.

Squad rotation
“You rotate your team for a number of different reasons: fatigue, to try and motivate the players who are keen to play, based on a strategy, etc. That's something that I'll look at after our training session”.

El Clásico triumph
“Everyone’s entitled to their opinion in football. Our performance in El Clásico wasn't amazing, but it was a smart performance because we defended well and were fast in attacking areas, which is what we asked of the players”.

Vinicius Jr.
“I like him to try things and the fact that he plays at such high intensity. That speaks volumes of his quality, but he works really hard and plays at high intensity when on the ball. There are a lot of things he has to improve off the ball, but he's capable of doing that without any problems at all. He's gracious, likes to work hard and so far he's doing just fine”.

Demanding schedule
“Passion for football is all about watching a game as if it were a film, right the way through. There's a lot of football on the television and it's impossible to watch all of the games. As a fan, I like to watch games all of the time, but as a coach it's not the best way to prepare for a game because if you're playing a lot of games your performance levels tail off. I agree that they need to look at changing the calendar because there are a lot of games. UEFA and FIFA have to sort it out because the players are suffering from fatigue. It doesn't matter if a coach suffers from fatigue but if the players are tired then there will be no games”.

Incidents with Koeman
“I was annoyed and that was down to Koeman. Those things just can't happen and we simply can't put up with rudeness. It's a problem within society and not just within football because it was a lack of respect shown towards the individual and not the coach. When somebody shows a lack of respect it means that there is a problem within society”.