Carlo Ancelotti recoils on the issue of calendars

Carlo Ancelotti without mincing words

Finishing outside the top eight in the Champions League’s single round will force Real Madrid not only to play two more games in an already busy schedule, but also to contend with Manchester City, which although it is, this season, performing less well than the standards of recent years, è still a big name in European soccer.

Just talking about calendars, Carlo Ancelotti relaunched his strong opinion, expressing himself harshly on the need to face a match every three days for most of the season: "The calendar è absurd – said, without mincing words, the Blancos’ coach to the microphones of 'Sky Sport' -. We have to deal with too many injured players, at this time especially in defense".

It is not è the first time that Ancelotti has spoken out against what he says is è an excessive jamming of the calendar. D'on the other hand, Real Madrid è busy this year in La Liga, the Champions League and the Spanish Cup, played the Super Cup in Saudi Arabia in January, the Intercontinental Cup in December and will be among the protagonists of next summer’s Club World Cup.

Considering the competitions already played and assuming Real Madrid makes it to the bottom of all competitions, that would make a total of 71 competitions played between August 2024 and July 2025. A demand, according to Ancelotti, that is too severe for the physique of his players, althoughé the structuring of tournaments is increasingly going to meet this kind of need at the calendar level.