Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti told the press on Wednesday night that he did not see their 4-0 win over Barcelona as a vindication of his management. Ahead of their match against Villarreal on Saturday, Ancelotti has told the press that he does not need to prove anything either.
Ancelotti interrupted the journalist’s question which began with ‘After 1,100 or 1,200 games’ to interject with ‘1,272’ to much laughter in the press room. He was then asked where the Barcelona game ranked amongst those games.
“The victory against Barca allows you to win a title. At a football level I put the game in the first 10…”.
Later he was asked if the doubts around his continuity were a surprise.
“After 1,272 games I don’t have to prove anything to anyone”
And then why he knew the exact amount of games he had managed.
“[Laughs] I don’t keep track of it game by game, but I looked at it recently because I thought it was close to 1,300 and I thought I should probably celebrate it when it reaches that number.”
Towards the end of the press conference, he was again asked if he found it a surprise that people still questioned him after so many games.
“No, everyone is free to opine or evaluate as they wish. If I have managed 1,272 games, I don’t know how many press conferences I have given… probably double, that’s for certain. You can imagine, so leave me alone today [laughs].”
The Italian manager was clearly in good form, and even a few weeks ago was fairly sanguine about his own situation, having been through it all before. Fairly or not, depending on how the latter stages of the Copa del Rey and Champions League go, the chances are the pressure will return, even if Ancelotti has won himself a brief reprieve currently.