Ancelotti: "We Will Always Miss Kroos"
Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid's coach, acknowledged that they will "always" miss Toni Kroos, who decided to retire at the peak of his career at the end of last season. He assured that his task is not to find a player with the same characteristics as the German midfielder but rather for the team to "adapt to something new."
"The first game went well; we will always miss Toni Kroos because he was a special player," Ancelotti admitted. "Looking for another Kroos is impossible; the team has to adapt to something new, and it's not bad because if you get too accustomed, you lose activation. If you introduce something new that makes the players think more, it's good for concentration and motivation as well," he added.
The Italian coach reiterated his message about the squad, considering it complete despite the limited options in central defense. He is confident in David Alaba's return in good condition once he recovers from the serious knee injury that will keep him out for the first two months of the new season.
"The squad is complete," he stated emphatically. "Now we have to wait thirteen days for the window to close, but we've decided that we don't need a central defender because we believe Alaba will recover soon and well. We have young players who are ready to play some matches with us. We've had bad luck because Joan got injured, but we have Jacobo and Asencio who can contribute in some matches."
Real Madrid's challenge in the upcoming LaLiga season is to retain the title, something they haven't achieved since 2008. "Carletto" assured that it will be challenging, with Barcelona and a reinforced Atlético de Madrid as their main rivals.
"Tomorrow (Saturday) LaLiga begins with all the excitement of trying to retain the title we deservedly won last year. In Mallorca, it has always been tough for us. They've changed coaches; another very experienced and capable one has arrived. We're sure it will be a hard-fought match," he stated.
"We focus on reality because, above all, the players know how difficult it is to win a game, not a title. It requires quality, commitment, sacrifice... thinking too far ahead is not good for anyone. We can't think about May; we have to prepare ourselves to be in good shape and try to win every match," he added.
