Carlo Ancelotti can make history on May 28 by winning the Champions League for the fourth time as a trainer. No one has ever been able to do that before. On Wednesday evening, the Italian coach received help from a number of veterans, when he was at his wits’ end in the semi-final against Manchester City (3-1). The day after the sensational comeback, there is plenty of talk about the chat between Ancelotti, Toni Kroos and Marcelo.
Real ended the game without Kroos, Casemiro and Luka Modric, who were all taken out early by Ancelotti. The Italian trainer hoped to bring about something with the introduction of Marco Asensio, Eduardo Camavinga and Rodrygo and eventually got his money’s worth when the latter turned a 0-1 deficit into a 2-1 victory in the absolute final phase and forced an extension. In extra time, Ancelotti asked his veterans for their opinion in a bid to fight Pep Guardiola’s side.
Caoch kroos, coach Marcelo pic.twitter.com/CWGYcuMBXz
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“He asked us which substitutions he should make in extra time. He had doubts,” Kroos admitted afterwards. In addition to the German, Marcelo also appeared at the get-together along the sidelines. The Brazilian fullback, who played the entire game in the championship game against Espanyol (4-0), stayed on the bench this time. “This describes perfectly what he is like and why he works so well with this team,” Kroos explains. Fans in Santiago Bernabéu captured the conversation between Ancelotti, Kroos and Marcelo using their mobile phones to share on social media.
Ancelotti has repeatedly stated that he values the opinions of his players, regardless of the final decision. “It’s great, we were knocked out 26 times in the knockout phase, but fought back 26 times. It’s hard to explain what happened in the last minutes,” said the world champion. “It’s the conviction, the stadium, that combination is magical.” On May 28, Real will decide with Liverpool who can call themselves Europe’s best. For Ancelotti it will be the fourth time that he will face the English top club in a final.