La Liga
Carlo Ancelotti delighted to become Real Madrid’s most successful manager
Real Madrid’s Intercontinental Cup triumph on Dec 18 marked a remarkable milestone for Carlo Ancelotti, as the Italian became the manager with the most titles in the club’s history with a total of 15 trophies.
After his side breezed past Mexican club Pachuca 3-0 in a one-sided contest at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar, he surpassed the late Miguel Munoz, whom he equalled in August by winning the European Super Cup against Atalanta.
“There are so many of them (titles) and I’m delighted, really happy… it’s a success story,” a smiley Ancelotti told Spanish television channel Telecinco.
“Today I really liked the attitude from the players. Up front, they made the difference, Vinicius Jr had a great game. Offensively we did well.
“We have a lot of quality. Kylian (Mbappe) had a good game, Rodrygo scored the second… We are very happy because we won a title far from home and in the middle of a busy season.”
The 65-year-old has one of the most-decorated CVs in world football.
When he was lured back to Real for a second spell three years ago, following the departure of club great Zinedine Zidane, he knew that his only mission was to increase Real’s trophy haul and he has not disappointed.
Ancelotti became the first manager to capture titles in each of Europe’s top five leagues – England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France – and has guided Real to two Champions League and La Liga doubles in three seasons.
His Real silverware includes three Champions League titles, two Club World Cups, three European Super Cups, two Spanish League titles, two Spanish Cups, two Spanish Super Cups and, now, one Intercontinental Cup title.
The latest victory was a fairly easy contest, as Mbappe opened the scoring in the 37th minute before Rodrygo doubled Real’s lead early in the second half. Vinicius sealed a comfortable win with a late penalty.
Mbappe returned to the line-up in after missing the weekend’s 3-3 draw with Rayo Vallecano due to a hamstring injury suffered in the Champions League win at Atalanta last week.
He swept in from close range to break the deadlock after brilliant play from Vinicius, who won the Fifa Best men’s Player of the Year award a day earlier after missing out on the Ballon d’Or.
Former West Brom and Newcastle forward Salomon Rondon led the attack for Concacaf Champions Cup winners Pachuca, but they never truly looked capable of an upset and Rodrygo’s fine curling strike put Real in total control.
It was allowed to stand after the referee consulted the pitchside monitor even though Jude Bellingham was in an offside position and appeared to be interfering with the goalkeeper’s line of vision.
Vinicius added a third from the penalty spot six minutes from time following another VAR (video assistant referee) review after Lucas Vazquez was chopped down in the Pachuca box.
“In this part of the season I was a bit anxious but this will change in 2025 I’m sure,” added Ancelotti. “It’s important for us to get to Christmas alive. I think we’ve grown a lot and that gives us confidence for 2025.”
This was the first edition of the Fifa-backed Intercontinental Cup, which broadly maintains the previous format of the Club World Cup and features the six continental champions.
The latter is being expanded to include 32 teams in 2025 and will now be played every four years. A past version of the Intercontinental Cup ran from 1960 to 2004 involving the champions of Europe and South America.
Real won that competition three times and then lifted the Club World Cup on a record five occasions.
They are to due to play Pachuca again at the 2025 Club World Cup in the United States, as well as an Al Hilal team including Neymar, and Red Bull Salzburg.
Real host Sevilla in La Liga on Dec 22 in their final game of the year. They will return to the Middle East in early January for the four-team Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
-Reuters/ AFP
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Raphinha knew there was no reason to panic as Barcelona struggled to break down Espanyol on Thursday and said it was only a matter of time before the “golden feet” of Lamine Yamal steered them to a title-winning victory with a glorious goal.
Yamal, 17, took the ball on the right touchline and made a superb lateral run across the edge of the box before unleashing a curling strike between two defenders and into the top corner to break the deadlock early in the second half.
The stunning strike set Barca on course for a 2-0 win that secured the LaLiga title, with Real Madrid seven points back with only two games left to play.
“We didn’t have many clear chances but we have a kid in there who sometimes pulls something out of the golden feet he has and he gave us peace of mind to stay in the game more calmly,” Raphinha said.
“In January some people were saying we would fight to be third. We have confidence in ourselves. That’s the key. We trust in the work and in what we know we can do.”
Raphinha has scored 18 league goals this season, including a brace in Saturday’s crucial 4-3 win over Real Madrid, and was quick to credit the trust shown in him by coach Hansi Flick.
The Brazilian tripled his goal tally from last season and also has the third-highest number of assists in the competition with nine, three less than leader Yamal.
“The most important thing was the confidence of the coach. Knowing at the start of the season that he was counting on me, a person who controls the team … it changes you in the end,” he said.
-Reuters
Former Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso is set to become the next Real Madrid manager on a three-year deal when he leaves Bayer Leverkusen after this season, Spanish media reported on Monday.
Alonso, 43, is expected to replace current Real boss Carlo Ancelotti, who is being lined up for the vacant Brazil job ahead of the 2026 World Cup, soccer sources told Reuters.
Despite the Italian having a year remaining on his contract, Real’s underwhelming season and his desire to coach Brazil have led to a mutual agreement to part ways, the sources added.
Alonso, who said earlier this month that he was leaving Leverkusen after guiding them to the double last term, will join Real before the inaugural Club World Cup in the United States from June 14 to July 14, multiple media reports said.
Alonso, who also played for Liverpool and Bayern Munich, last season steered Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, ending the Bavarians’ 11-year domination, and they also won the German Cup and German Super Cup.
Reports of Ancelotti’s likely departure come as no surprise after Real’s 4-3 defeat at Barcelona in a thrilling ‘El Clasico’ on Sunday left his side on the brink of a trophyless season.
The 65-year-old Italian, who returned for a second stint at Real in June 2021, led the Spanish giants to two Champions League and LaLiga doubles, the latest of which came last season.
He is the most successful manager in the club’s history with a total of 15 trophies and the first coach to claim titles in Europe’s top five leagues.
However, this season Real were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Arsenal and allowed Barca to fight back and win 3-2 in the Copa del Rey final.
Second-placed Real are seven points adrift of Barcelona, who could secure the league title on Wednesday without kicking a ball if Real fail to win at home to Mallorca.
Regardless of Real’s result, a Barca victory in the city derby away to Espanyol on Thursday would clinch the title.
An official announcement regarding a managerial change is expected before Real’s last game of the season at home to Real Sociedad on May 25.
-Reuters
Schmuelgen/File Photo
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It was mission accomplished, said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his side fought back from two-goals behind to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw on Tuesday for a 5-4 aggregate win that put them through to the Copa del Rey final.
Ancelotti brushed off questions about a sub-par performance by his side and praised his players’ effort in what he considered a highly entertaining encounter.
“We have achieved our goal today which was to reach the final and there is not much time to think about it,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“It was an entertaining game with some mistakes and a lot of good things. It was fun and we are in the final.
“I never saw ourselves out of it because anything can happen at the Bernabeu. When we have to come from behind, we never give up. We never give up, especially at home, with the fans by our side.”
Ancelotti said David Alaba was not to blame after he deflected two balls into his own goal, calling it “bad luck” by the Austrian defender, but urged his defence to play with better focus moving forward.
“It’s not good to concede four goals in a game,” Ancelotti said.
“Right now we are a team that has a lot of effectiveness up-front, but little balance.
“However, we can’t ignore what we did in attack, scoring four goals against Real is not that easy. I think we are doing quite well.”
Real Madrid, who have won the Spanish Cup only once in over a decade, will play either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in a mouth-watering final in Seville next month.
Atletico fought back to hold Barca to a thrilling 4-4 draw ahead of Wednesday’s second-leg in Madrid.
-Reuters
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