Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti has stated that he is gets no pleasure from his Spanish rival, Barcelona, as the club is facing a hard time with team and management, but was confident that they will soon be back on track.
Luis Enrique has come under fierce criticism for his decision to place the clubs front men, Lionel Messi and Neymar on the bench during the match against Real Sociedad that ended 1-0 in favour of the host team.
Messi was also reported to have missed training on Monday, January 5, 2015 with suspected gastroenteritis; a development which suggests that the Argentina star is currently not comfortable with life at Camp Nou. He has also been rumoured to be considering a move to Chelsea after following the Premier league club on Instagram.
More disruptive was the sacking of the director of football Andoni Zubizarreta, and his deputy, Carles Puyol who was laid off on Monday, January 5, 2015 following criticism of President Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Ancelotti maintained that he is not happy with the challenges of Barcelona, stressing that he is concerned about his own team and their performance.
Speaking ahead of Copa del Rey which is scheduled for Wednesday, January 7, 2015 between Real Madrid and Athletico Madrid, Ancelotti told reporters:
“I’m not happy about Barcelona’s problems, because I have things to fix of my own. I look at my own team, not what happens in Barcelona. Let’s just say that teams have problems during the season.”
“I do not know the dressing room of Barcelona, so I cannot comment on Luis Enrique’s decision to rest Messi, Neymar and Dani Alves.
“Everyone faces decisions regarding the dressing room and Luis Enrique is best placed to make those decisions. It looked like a fair one.”
Ancelotti also addressed the criticism against Gareth Bale over Madrid’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Valencia on Saturday, January 3, 2015.
The former Tottenham winger was accused of selfishness after opting to shoot rather than passing the ball to Karim Benzema who was in a dangerous position, but Ancelotti stressed that Bale made the right decision.
“I do not think Bale is selfish. I have seen the situation again and it was not easy to pass the ball, it was very complicated. He had no room and he tried to shoot,” the Italian said.
“There is no need to talk about Bale. He knows very well when he needs to pass but he took the right decision.
“If he feels pressure it is positive because he has scored goals in the finals he has played in. Against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday he will play.
