MADRID.- The coach of real Madrid, Carlo Ancelottisaid Friday that the Barcelonarival of the white team in the final of the Copa del Rey on April 26, “he has a lot of respect” for his team.
“Barcelona is playing very well, it is in a good dynamic, when you play a final you have to respect all the rivals, I think there is a lot of respect for Barcelona for its quality and I believe that Barcelona also has a lot of respect for Real Madrid,” said the Italian coach at a press conference on the eve of receiving Valencia on the 30th date of the Spanish League.
On that match against the ‘Che’ team, important for the fight for the league title, Ancelotti said that his team is “well.”
“With any doubt, obviously, for the effort of the extension (on Tuesday before the Real Sociedad in Cup), we are aware that Valencia is doing very well, we all feel that is an important moment of the season,” he said.
Asked about the problems in the goal for the injuries, four days after the first leg of Champions League against Arsenal, the Madrid coach hopes that the Belgian Thibaut Courtois arrives on time for the clash against the ‘gunners’.
“There is no concern, Courtois is much better, we believe he can get to Tuesday, we have doubts for tomorrow’s game with (Andriy) Lunin, who has had a small discomfort, and if he is not right, total confidence in Fran (González, third goalkeeper).”
Given the possibility of closing his second stage as coach ‘Merengue’ in case of achieving triplet (Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions), Ancelotti insisted that his desire is to continue at the head of the Santiago Bernabéu bank: “I will not be me who asks to leave this club.”
Luis Enrique wants to maintain “perfection”
Luis Enrique, coach of Paris SG, considered this Friday that “there is no better stimulus than trying to maintain unbeatability in the league championship”, while his team could seal the title on Saturday against Angers.
“I believe that we are already virtual champions, but there are different circumstances that make us not finish the league tomorrow (Saturday), because there are several possibilities of getting records that would help us prepare the other competitions,” said the Spanish coach at a press conference referring to the final of the France Cup (before the Reims) and the quarterfinals of the Champions League (Aston Villa).
