In a podcast interview with Giacomo Poretti, a renowned Italian actor and film director, Carlo Ancelotti reflected on his managerial career and his current role at Real Madrid. Ancelotti, whose contract with the club runs until 2026, shared insightful thoughts. Here are the key highlights from the conversation:
Ancelotti spoke about his present experience at Real Madrid and its potential conclusion: “It’s not up to me to decide when my time with Real Madrid will finish. That’s clear. The president will decide, it will happen sooner or later.” Furthermore, the coach praised the club’s sustained success in recent years and revealed the key to it: “Real Madrid has adapted well to modern football. Unlike other clubs, there isn’t an owner in the traditional sense. The club belongs to its members. The tradition is passed down through generations. Santiago Bernabéu understood this well, and now Florentino Pérez does too. No one is above the club.”
‘Carletto’ was questioned about the role of coaches in today’s football: “Sometimes it seems our value is underestimated. I’d love to be a fly on the wall to hear what a player says when they’re not playing and go home. Many players have argued with me, but in the end, it’s always been resolved. There was one player, I won’t name him, who would put a towel over his face in the dressing room so he wouldn’t have to listen to me. It was early in his career. One day I told him, ‘We can’t continue like this.’ Some players, when you bench them, find it hard to even say hello in the morning. They confuse the person with the player.” The manager is one of the few coaches who has witnessed the evolution of football from within in recent years. He explained how the role of coaches has changed: “Now it’s much more complicated than before. Previously, I just had a sheet where I noted: defensive wall, who takes corners, who takes penalties, who heads the ball, defensive marking on set pieces… and that was it. Now there are clips showing player positioning on set pieces, both in defense and attack. If you take a player out and bring another in, you have to tell them: ‘Look, you need to occupy this position.’”
The Italian coach discussed his star players, starting with the racist incidents involving Vinicius: “Vinicius suffers many racist attacks, but he’s not the only one. It has also happened to Nico Williams. We need to take many steps forward. The fact that they are good players might be used as an excuse to attack them more, but it shouldn’t happen.” He also spoke about Mbappé’s talent, Real Madrid’s major signing this season: “Mbappé didn’t reach this level by just training from day one of his life, but because Mother Nature gave him a special talent. He has managed it with commitment and sacrifice. Young people should use sport to learn; it’s a school of life.” Finally, Ancelotti was asked about Nico Paz, a Real Madrid academy player currently playing for Como in Italy and making a name for himself in Serie A: “He is doing well, very well. I don’t know if Inter wants Nico Paz, they are a good team. I saw Marcus Thuram when he was a child, I coached his father at Parma. Now he’s built like a tank.”
Currently, the Italian is in his fourth year of his second spell in charge of Real Madrid. The Madrid team is still competing in the Copa del Rey, Champions League, and is second in La Liga. Will Ancelotti’s team be able to win any of the major titles?