The Tense Ancelotti in Press Conference: "I'm Not Answering You"
"This is a press conference, not a debate." The Italian coach of Real Madrid delivered one of his most tense press conferences in recent times. Here's what he said.
The Italian Carlo Ancelotti, coach of Real Madrid, simply responded with a "I'm not answering you" to a journalist's question in the press room about whether, in his opinion, the team needs any reinforcements during this winter transfer window to maintain a high competitive level.
"We haven’t changed our minds. These are talks we have with the club to try to do the best and have a competitive team, but talking here about what I discuss with the club doesn’t seem correct to me," he initially said when questioned about the transfer market.
Then, when asked directly for his opinion, he simply replied, "I'm not answering you."
On Criticisms
"The truth is I don’t follow the wave of criticism, where one day you’re the best in the world, and the next day you’re the biggest fool. My experience in this world has given me the balance to not follow that wave, because if you do, you end up not knowing who you are. I don’t think I’m the best, nor the biggest fool," he said in the press conference.
"It doesn't bother me at all because the team is well worked. We train every day. It doesn’t bother me because it’s not the truth," he added.
On Mbappé
The Italian coach once again praised Kylian Mbappé’s level, who was the standout player for his team in the heavy 2-5 loss to FC Barcelona in the Spanish Supercup final last Sunday.
"It took him time to adapt to the team. And also to return to his best physical version because he had some issues. Now he’s in a very good moment, and the team needs to take advantage of it," he stated.
On Tchouaméni
On the other hand, Ancelotti expressed his confidence in Aurélien Tchouaméni, who was heavily criticized for his performance against Barcelona, and called for patience with Raúl Asencio.
"I’m still convinced that Tchouaméni has done well as a center-back, the data speaks for that, even though it’s not his ideal position. When we no longer have the emergency at the back, and when Alaba returns, he will go back to his position as a pivot," he pointed out.
On Asencio
"Asencio needs time because he’s not used to it. He joined us for the first time two months ago, he’s had good games, and he has shown that he can play, but he’s only been with us for two months," he assured.
