There has been a bunch of content about Real Madrid Carlo Ancelotti floating around online lately. Much of it has to do with the fact that his days at the Santiago Bernabeu are numbered. As soon as the final whistle blows on the Copa del Rey final, the Italian will ride into the sunset. With a rose between his teeth and a Spanish guitar strumming in the background, ideally.
But this season has been far from a rosy one for “Carletto” in the Real Madrid dugout. Despite the addition of longtime transfer target Kylian Mbappé, Los Merengues haven’t been at their swashbuckling best. Wobbly domestic form has seen them fall four points behind perennial rivals Barcelona in the La Liga title race. The memory of their 5-1 demolition by Arsenal in their Champions League quarter-final tie is still fresh in Madridista’s minds.
Carlo Ancelotti Regrets Handing Out Rare Starts
Los Blancos’ only realistic hope of silverware this season is in Saturday’s final against Barça. This is why Ancelotti gave Arda Güler and Brazilian teenager Endrick a rare opportunity in the starting 11 in yesterday’s game against Getafe. The former justified the manager’s faith, scoring the all-important goal that secured those three precious points. But the latter did the opposite, drawing the revered coach’s ire.
Ancelotti’s perpetually raised eyebrow must have climbed to new heights at the Estadio Coliseum. Instead of helping seal the win while staking a claim for a regular place in the first 11, the youngster was out there showboating.
Two Chances, Zero goals
It was the 32nd minute of the game when Vinicius Junior sent his compatriot through on goal with a tidy wall pass. But Getafe Goalkeeper David Soria was out smartly to parry Endrick’s effort. Were it not for recovering defender Djené’s heroics, the ball would have still crept over the line. Moments later, the striker had another one-on-one opportunity but again fluffed his lines. This second miss caused Ancelotti to abandon all post-game presser diplomacy.
“He had two chances. He couldn’t have done any better with the first one, and with the second one, he may have been offside, but he can’t be doing that.” A few minutes after that miss, Ancelotti subbed Endrick, replacing him with Jude Bellingham. Did he want to give the 18-year-old a piece of his mind, or did he intend to give Bellingham an early run-out? I wouldn’t rule out the former.
Justifiable Rage
A one-goal lead doesn’t offer enough cushion for a team, even of Real Madrid’s caliber, to break out of the box of tricks. Their opponents last night may be 10 places below them on the table, but they more than held their ground. Indeed, Getafe could have come away with a point, or all three, if they had a less profligate number 9 than Mauro Arambarri. You can therefore understand Carlo Ancelotti’s rage at Endrick’s preference for style over substance.
The Madrid boss will hope Mbappé will be fit enough to lead the line in the weekend’s final. The Frenchman has missed Real’s last two games with an ankle issue. If he remains unavailable, Ancelotti will have to get young Endrick in the right frame of mind to possibly play a significant role in the match. He won’t want anything or anyone to deny him a memorable swansong. Or get between him and his only trophy of the season.
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