Madrid Manager Ancelotti Expresses Challenges in Navigating Role for Vinicius Jr., Following Valencia Termination
Madrid Manager Ancelotti Expresses Challenges in Navigating Role for Vinicius Jr., Following Valencia Termination
Carlo Ancelotti stood by Vinicius Jr. and acknowledged the challenging circumstances for the Brazilian following his dismissal at Valencia.
In an arena known for racist slurs, Vinicius was subjected to derision throughout the 2-1 victory and was sent off for shoving the home team's goalkeeper, Stole Dimitrievski.
Ancelotti came to his player's defence after late strikes from Luke Modric and Jude Bellingham reversed Madrid's fate in La Liga.
In anticipation of a Copa del Rey encounter against Deportiva Minera on Monday, Ancelotti once more advocated for Vinicius Jr. at a pre-match press conference.
Regarding Vinicius' possibility of participating in the subsequent fixture, given a Spanish Super Cup semifinal encounter with Mallorca approaching, Ancelotti replied: "Thibaut Courtois and Antonio Rudiger are the only ones staying behind. The rest are all making the journey."
"We want to provide playing time for those who haven't had as much, yet we believe the card shown was yellow, not red. We're hoping he avoids any match suspensions," Ancelotti emphasized.
Prompted to comment on the struggles faced by the controversial forward, Ancelotti admitted: "I'm not in his shoes, but enduring everything that transpires, the insults... He's striving for improvement. He's disappointed about the red card, he apologized, but we need to focus on the future."
The Italian was reminded about Vinicius' gestures towards the crowd during the Mestalla match, which could be seen as his seemingly persistent allusions to relegation-struggling Valencia potentially descending into the second division.
"In-stadium events...," Ancelotti left off.
"I believe he has significantly improved his behavior. He can continue improving, but nobody is flawless. He has improved so greatly that he is the world's best player."
Upset by Bellingham's missed penalty while the score was 1-0 in favor of Valencia, Ancelotti mentioned that converting penalties from 12 yards is "a highly complex technical aspect that is challenging to practice because the stadium atmosphere diverges significantly during a match."
"You cannot simulate the atmosphere of a stadium in training," he concluded.
- During their La Liga match against Valencia, Vinicius Jr. faced challenges, but Ancelotti hoped he could avoid any match suspensions for his dismissal.
- Ancelotti highlighted Vinicius' improvement, stating that he has significantly improved his behavior, even though nobody is flawless.
- In the Spanish Super Cup, Vinicius and Real Madrid will face Mallorca, with only Thibaut Courtois and Antonio Rudiger staying behind.
- Despite the harsh treatment he received from Valencia fans in the Spanish Super Cup, Carlo Ancelotti praised Vinicius as one of the world's best players, constantly improving.