Ancelotti: “We have to give a lot of love to Vinicius at Real Madrid”

Carlo Ancelotti defended Vinicius in a press conference ahead of this Saturday’s match against Real Sociedad. The Brazilian winger has been the target of criticism for his comments about the 2030 World Cup and his poor performances with the national team. The Italian coach admitted that his pupil is “not 100%” but his condition was his “last concern”.

“Brazil’s problem is not a personal one, it’s a collective one. You can’t say Brazil is playing badly because Vinicius is not playing badly. We are happy with him. He is not at his best but we must not forget that we are here because of Vinicius, two Champions League winners. We have to give a lot of love to Vinicius at Real Madrid,” Ancelotti insisted.

“He is not at his best but he was decisive in the Super Cup so he is still very important for us. It is true that he is not scoring as much as usual but we are not in a rush. The last concern for me, personally, is the state of Vinicius, because he always works well and gives his all. It is only a matter of time before he reaches his best but, having said that, I am very happy with what he is doing,” commented Carret.

Reggiolo was also understanding of Rodrigo: “For me he is as important as Mbappe, Bellingham and Vinicius. I understand his anger at not being on the Ballon d’Or list. He is not valued and he obviously deserves to be. People forget that he scored two goals in the Ballon d’Or against Manchester City,” he said.

“If there are problems in the dressing room, I sense it. Very important players like Kroos, Nacho, Casemiro and Karim have left and now other players have taken up the responsibility like Valverde, Rodrigo, Vinicius and Choameni. We are not so young anymore,” said the Italian, once again praising the Uruguayan.

“He’s a great footballer. He has all the characteristics you need to be a high-level midfielder: tactical intelligence, quality, strength… I’m very happy,” said Ancelotti, who was torn between Brahim and Güler in his XI against Real Sociedad. “That’s the question I have. Arda can play inside but not as a pivot. He doesn’t have the defensive characteristics you need. I want him to attack and defend, but it’s not that complicated. Inside he has to work more on his defense. Playing inside between the lines and receiving and assisting the forwards would make him more visible, but it’s more complicated for him to be an undisputed starter because we don’t have an undisputed player in this team,” Ancelotti explained.

The Italian said he was not worried about injuries: “It is normal to have injuries in this calendar. Last year we had a lot of injuries but we managed to solve them well. We are used to it. The fatigue assessment is very important. The Brazilian is under observation because he did not have much time to recover and should be rested”, he declared.