As the Spanish football giants Real Madrid and Barcelona prepare to renew their epic rivalry in the Supercopa de España final, Los Blancos coach Carlo Ancelotti believes his team is ready to apply hard lessons from their previous Clásico thrashing. The Italian tactician spoke candidly about October’s humbling 4-0 league defeat and outlined his strategy to avoid a repeat result on the grand stage in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Ancelotti: “We’ve evaluated our mistakes”
Addressing the media ahead of Sunday’s showpiece event, Ancelotti acknowledged the need for Real Madrid to learn from their Clásico shortcomings. Despite a positive start at the Santiago Bernabéu, Barcelona ruthlessly exposed Los Blancos’ defensive frailties, scoring four unanswered second-half goals.
“We have to think about what happened in that first game. They beat us. We’ve evaluated it. We started the game well, and then we had problems in the second half. We’ll try to repeat the good things we did, and avoid the mistakes we made in the second half.”
– Carlo Ancelotti
Key among those mistakes was Real Madrid’s inability to cope with Barcelona’s well-drilled offside trap. The Blaugrana’s high defensive line caught out Madrid’s forwards time and again, with star striker Kylian Mbappé flagged offside a career-high eight times. Ancelotti stressed the importance of devising a plan to counteract this tactic.
The Bellingham boost
There was concern when midfield dynamo Jude Bellingham limped off late in Madrid’s 3-0 semifinal win over Mallorca. However, Ancelotti assuaged fears over the young Englishman’s fitness, confirming he will be ready for action in the final:
“Yes, he’s fine, he’s recovered well. He had some discomfort, it’s normal, it usually happens. He’s very important, he’s in very good form. He’s a player who, in this period, has made the difference.”
– Carlo Ancelotti on Jude Bellingham
Dani Olmo dilemma
Ancelotti also weighed in on the eligibility saga surrounding Barcelona midfielder Dani Olmo. The Spanish international was temporarily de-registered by La Liga and the RFEF due to the Catalan club’s financial difficulties, but has since been reinstated pending a decision from Spain’s sports ministry.
Rather than dwelling on the uncertainty, Ancelotti chose to focus on his team’s preparation: “He’s a great player. If Dani Olmo plays, we have to think about dealing with the quality he has.”
Flick’s firm stance
For his part, Barcelona boss Hansi Flick remained tight-lipped on reports linking defender Ronald Araújo with a January exit, simply stating: “I want him in my team.” The German coach was equally coy on his selection dilemma between goalkeepers Iñaki Peña and Wojciech Szczesny, after Peña was dropped for the semifinal due to tardiness.
“I never speak normally about the starting eleven. You all can see that Szczesny had a good match [in the semifinal], and Iñaki had a fantastic first half of the season … I tried to explain it to you, because the noise outside [the club] is very loud. We only have one thing that coaches want on matchday, that everybody is on time. They’re professional players. They have two or three [appointments] on the day, and they have to be right on time. It’s the third time it’s happened, and I had no choice. The player knows this.”
– Hansi Flick on squad discipline
Clásico contrasts
Ancelotti also reflected on the wildly divergent scorelines in recent Clásicos, from Barcelona’s 4-0 rout to Madrid’s 4-1 Supercopa triumph last season, powered by a Vinícius Júnior hat-trick. The seasoned Italian offered a philosophical take:
“Quality prevails, compared to the balance of the team. Individual moments, over the collective. That’s the reason I think. There’s so much individual quality that it overcomes the collective, which is above all in defence.”
– Carlo Ancelotti on Clásico unpredictability
As the latest installment of world football’s greatest rivalry looms, Ancelotti and Real Madrid are determined to show they’ve absorbed the painful teachings of the past. By learning from their Clásico calamity, Los Blancos hope to deny Barcelona a famous double and lift the Spanish Supercopa. The tactical battle between two brilliant minds in Ancelotti and Flick promises to be just as captivating as the on-pitch war waged by the Clásico combatants.
