Ancelotti backs Luis Enrique: "He took a fair decision"

Carlo Ancelotti spoke at the press conference before the first leg of the Copa del Rey clash against Atlético Madrid.

How is the dressing room?: We are focused on a match that will be difficult. We want to continue with the same struggle and desire to keep doing well, as usual.”

The goalkeeper for the Copa del Rey: “Keylor Navas is going to play in the cup and he will play right until the end of the competition.”

His starting eleven: “I might make some changes. There are players who have not recovered. But I will go with the best team possible.”

Torres: “Without playing, Torres has already brought excitement to the fans. He has received their affection. Torres has calmness, experience and in this environment he will be more motivated and have a bigger desire to do well.”

Luis Enrique leaving his stars on the bench: (laughs) “I do not know the dressing room of Barcelona, I cannot comment. Everyone faces decisions regarding the dressing room. Luis Enrique is best placed to make those decisions, it looked like a fair one.”

Gareth Bale and selfishness: “I have seen the play and it was not easy to pass the ball, it was very complicated. He had no room and he tried to shoot. There is no need to talk about Bale. He knows very well when he needs to pass but he took the right decision.”

Instability of a club: “I have never had clubs with stability problems. There are teams that do. I have to be ready. What happens to Barça happens to all teams at some point in the season.”

Is Bale feeling the pressure of being an expensive signing?: "I do not think Bale is selfish. If he has pressure it is positive because he has scored goals in the finals he has played in. Tomorrow he will play.”

Atlético at the Calderón: “We know them very well. We have played against them many times and often this season. They are a tough team because they make things difficult for you and they are well organised. We have always tried our best to win. They are one of the best teams in Europe.”

Are you happy at what is happening to Barcelona?: “I’m not happy, because I have things to fix. I look at my own team, not what happens in Barcelona. Let’s just say that teams have problems during the season.”

Do you have a tired team?: “At the moment the team is not tired because they had a seven-day holiday. They are fine and it showed in the latter stages of the match against Valencia where we played with a lot of intensity. At the end of the season we don’t know what will happen. I don’t think we’ll get tired at the end of the season.”

Are you missing some intensity in your play?: “I don’t think we have problems with our intensity. We tried to play with more intensity than our opponents. It was not a lack of intensity but a lack of goals.”

Atlético can prepare for a tough game: “The approach is always to play with our own identity, our philosophy and out qualities. Everyone has their own idea of football. I don’t think there is any news regarding this. Atlético will prepare for the game with intensity and so will we.”

The defeat at Valencia: “A defeat is always a defeat. It has not done as much damage as it could have because of Barcelona’s defeat.”

The cup tie: “It will be a game between two evenly match teams. I do not think it will change this year.”

from Últimas noticias | Diario AS http://ift.tt/14ha5Pf

via IFTTT