Ancelotti: “I liked the hunger of veterans like Carvajal, Marcelo, Lucas, Nacho and Isco”

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has talked to the club’s official TV channel, where he discussed the current pre-season and what he’s seen from his players so far.

“I’ve really enjoyed finding those two things: the quality among the youngsters, many of whom I didn’t know very well, and, above all, the hunger and commitment from the likes of Carvajal, Nacho, Marcelo, Lucas Vázquez and Isco, who’ve won it all in recent years and still have great desire, excitement and hunger to have a good season, which is what we’re all looking to do,” said Ancelotti.

The Italian coach explained what kind of style of play he will try to implement this pre-season, focusing a lot on attacking football.

“We have to take the club’s history into account. As a team, we have to play well and show the quality we’ve got out on the pitch. We also have to play a high-energy, high-intensity game, both with and without the ball, which is what the modern game requires of you: high intensity both on and off the ball,” he added.

Ancelotti is not wrong, Real Madrid will need to play with intensity and quality and that’s something he achieved during his first tenure as the coach years ago.

The Italian manager wrapped up his interview by discussing what new signing David Alaba can bring to the table once he rejoins the squad in training over the next few days. Ancelotti coached Alaba when he was with Bayern and seems to be excited about having the versatile player at his disposal once again.

“He’s a strong all-round player with a lot of quality. He’s also very smart in terms of defensive tactics. I played him at centre-back in my last few games at Bayern and he did very well. He played at left wing-back and has a lot of experience and is very smart. He’s capable of playing in both positions and has even played in central midfield for Austria. He’s a strong all-round player who I’m sure will have a really good season,” concluded the coach.