An unusual event took place yesterday in the press room of the sports city of Valdebebas. In the preview of a classic, and also a classic that can practically decide the League in favor of Real Madrid, almost no one asked about the match or the opponent. When Carlo Ancelotti was finally asked about the game, the Italian coach even thanked someone for remembering today’s match. The anecdote clearly shows that the white club is still in the midst of a happy hangover from its qualification for the semi-finals of the Champions League thanks to its victory on penalties over Manchester City.
Madrid, a club with an optimistic nature, is currently delighted with its historical resilience and the criticism about how it achieved the classification not only slips by but is met with irony: “In Manchester we did very well. I have yet to see any of our fans sad about how we played. Some may appear in the next few days. In these cases I remember a Spanish saying that I really like: ‘Háblame del mar, marinero…'”, commented Carlo Ancelotti amid laughter in the room.
In no case does Madrid underestimate the opponent or expect an easy game despite having only lost two games this season and heading home. (The two at the Metropolitano, in the League and in the Cup.) Ancelotti has praised more than once Barcelona’s ability to bring out young talents: “It speaks very well of Lamal and Cubarsí what they are doing with these ages. It is important to mix youth and experience well. Young people give more enthusiasm. They will have a future full of success”, he said.
And he continued: “I hope to see the classic of all time. We will play against a live, very competitive team that is doing very well. I expect an even, competitive match. For us it is an opportunity to win the League because we are very close to the title”.
The coach said at the beginning of the season that the League could be won with 80 points and he already has 78. Title number 36 looks very close.
In Valdebebas yesterday there was also another unprecedented circumstance this year. In the press conference no one mentioned the name of Jude Bellingham.
