Carlo Ancelotti explains why he returned to Real Madrid and jokes at his presentation press conference ‘the only thing that changes here is the coach.’
The Italian had already won the Champions League amid other silverware with the Merengues from 2013-15, but left the Everton job to accept this comeback at the Bernabeu.
As always, Ancelotti immediately put everyone at ease during the press conference and joked when reunited with many reporters.
“It’s been five years, but it’s all the same faces, both the journalists and the players. It’s as if the only thing that changes here is the coach.
“Please, call me Carlo and not Mr Ancelotti. I know I’m old, but not that old…” smiled the man who turns 62 next week.
“I’m very happy to be back home. I’ll give my all to repeat what we did in the past. I have fond memories of my other time here, I know what it means to be the coach of Real Madrid and I do it with great joy.
“It’s a big responsibility to be the Real Madrid coach. This is the best club in the world and you have more responsibility than in other sides. I accept it now, just as I did in the past.
“It’s been five years, but I feel the same emotions as the first time, albeit with more confidence and less fear.”
Ancelotti was asked repeatedly about transfer targets, including Kylian Mbappé and the possibility Sergio Ramos will walk away amid a contract dispute.
“The important thing is that we have a team that is balanced, has quality, the ability to sacrifice and play together. Individual talents give you something extra, but the ability to play as a team is the most important thing.
“I want more goals from Karim Benzema, but above all for more goals from the other players and not just the striker. We don’t need to sign a prolific forward, but rather find a system with an attacking approach.
“We’ve only spoken about the contract so far and not the staff or the squad. Sergio Ramos is an important player for Real Madrid, we’ll talk to the player, but as I said, I don’t know the details.”
Since leaving Real Madrid in 2015, Ancelotti has worked at Bayern Munich, Napoli and Everton.
“I am not the same Carlo Ancelotti as six years ago. I have more experience, I was very happy at Everton, it’s a club with a family atmosphere. I think you can learn from both positive and negative experiences.
“Every team has its target. Ours is to compete and try to win everything, Everton’s is to qualify for Europe. That was the objective I was asked to achieve by the Everton hierarchy, and we challenged for it throughout the season, compared to narrowly avoiding relegation the year before.”