Spain, Madrid.
Real Madrid announced their Head Coach for the new season on May 20th.
Former Paris Head Coach Ancelotti took over at the Bernabéu Stadium, taking the reins of Real Madrid.
Bringing this highly accomplished Head Coach to Real Madrid was another favorable testament to Florentino's transfer strategy.
Most importantly, Ancelotti was different from Mourinho.
He didn't have such great ambitions; he had no thoughts about transfer rights, only needing the technical department to buy the players he needed, and Ancelotti would not interfere with Florentino's transfer operations.
He'd play whatever hand he was dealt!
For Ancelotti, the 'cards' he needed were already at Real Madrid.
Real Madrid immediately held a press conference for Ancelotti, announcing his arrival at the Bernabéu.
Facing cameras from all over the world, Ancelotti smiled and said:
"I am very grateful for Mr. Perez's recognition.
In our several exchanges, I have fully appreciated the greatness of Real Madrid as a club."
"That's right! For me, this is a brand new adventure!"
"However, I am confident that I will do a good job.
I will build the club into a qualified team and make her great again!"
Facing the cameras, Ancelotti spoke eloquently.
At the same time, he also revealed some information about the personnel composition to the reporters.
"I will not make too many changes to the starting lineup.
I hope these players, after a tough season, at least get a pleasant vacation.
Therefore, the specific starters will be arranged according to the players' condition after they return.
I will give everyone an equal opportunity."
During this, he also mentioned Suker.
"Suker? Undoubtedly, he is my old partner," Ancelotti smiled, "He will still play a very important role in this team, but there will be some small changes in his scope of work, but please rest assured, he will definitely be able to perfectly digest it; he is that kind of guy!"
The entire press conference proceeded very harmoniously, with Ancelotti chatting and laughing.
He did not have Mourinho's aggressiveness, giving people a feeling of being bathed in a spring breeze.
The conclusion of the press conference marked Ancelotti's official appointment as Real Madrid's Head Coach.
On his second day in Madrid, Ancelotti, arranged by Florentino, visited Real Madrid's trophy room.
The dazzling array of honors put a slight pressure on Ancelotti.
This segment was both about understanding Real Madrid and giving him a sense of pressure.
That evening, Ancelotti called Suker, and through this call, he learned about the general situation within Real Madrid.
As Head Coach, he had to grasp the locker room situation immediately.
For example, after Mourinho left, what the current situation was like, all this information he needed to control.
"The general situation is this: Casillas has been somewhat marginalized, and it wouldn't be a big deal if he were sold at any time.
Ramos is currently serving as captain and has become the new leader of the Spanish local contingent!"
"Of course, you cannot ignore Casillas because of this; after all, this guy has immense prestige within the entire Spanish player system.
Although he lost his captaincy, he still has considerable influence."
"As for me…"
Suker laughed, "You give the orders!"
Hearing this, Ancelotti couldn't help but laugh as well.
Their relationship was much stronger than with Mourinho; Suker was also willing to trust him and would not be so wary.
Most importantly, Ancelotti was very good at handling people; he wouldn't do anything out of line, much less harm Suker's interests.
"What do you think about Kaka's situation?"
Ancelotti asked.
He had already heard about Kaka's situation; he was currently negotiating a contract with the club, most likely a pay cut to stay.
"There's nothing to be done; a pay cut is just the beginning.
No one will give a player over 30 a very high salary."
Suker shook his head and sighed.
This was irreversible, and Kaka himself understood it very well and was open-minded, so Suker couldn't do anything.
Suker asked, "Will you still use Kaka?"
"Of course!" Ancelotti said without hesitation, "Although he has lost his explosiveness, in the second half of your semi-final, Kaka showed a considerable overall vision and rhythm control ability."
"However, his tactical resources will be reduced, evolving from a core player to a role player, like a tempo setter!"
Suker nodded.
Ancelotti was still nostalgic; of course, there was also the reason that Kaka could be helpful, otherwise, Ancelotti wouldn't use him.
The next day, Ancelotti did not go directly to the club but instead went to Ramos's residence.
He knew that Ramos had not gone on vacation.
Seeing Ancelotti's arrival, Ramos seemed very surprised, but at the same time, there was a hint of joy in his heart.
"I'm surprised.
I thought you would go directly to the training base to work." Ramos handed him a glass of iced water.
Ancelotti took a sip and smiled, "Before working, I need to understand the situation.
I need to understand everything about this team."
Ramos nodded in agreement.
Ancelotti suddenly emphasized, "You are the first person I came to see!"
Hearing this, Ramos took a deep breath and nodded heavily.
Ancelotti said earnestly, "I believe that for a team to be competitive, communication is very important, especially the three roles in the first team, which play extremely crucial parts."
Ancelotti bent his fingers one by one.
"Head Coach!"
"Captain!"
"Core!"
He continued, "These three bear the most critical roles in the first team.
Only when the relationship between these three is harmonious can a team show sufficient combat power."
"Sergio, I don't know how you got along with the Head Coach before, but for me, I like to blend in with the players.
I like to be friends with you."
Ancelotti extended his hand and smiled, "I hope we work well together!"
Ramos blinked, then also smiled and extended his hand, "Okay Coach!"
Ancelotti patted Ramos's shoulder and smiled, "Just call me Boss; Suker and the others all call me that."
"Okay, Boss!"
Ramos immediately changed his address.
Ancelotti gave him a very good feeling; at least he wasn't as aggressive as Mourinho.
In fact, before Ancelotti took office, Ramos was a bit apprehensive.
He was afraid of repeating the tragedy of the Mourinho era, where Spanish players would once again be suppressed.
But Ancelotti directly stated his intention to have a peaceful coexistence.
This was very friendly news for him.
After bidding farewell to Ramos, Ancelotti then sought out Kaka.
Kaka also had not gone on vacation, the reason being to prepare for the new season.
That's right!
He was training early, attempting to raise his condition.
After his injury, Kaka had many problems, which he urgently needed to resolve.
"Boss, long time no see!"
Kaka happily hugged Ancelotti.
Unlike Ramos, he felt naturally closer to Ancelotti.
Under the clear sky, with sunlight streaming down, the two sat chatting under a tree.
"How's your physical condition?"
Ancelotti asked with concern.
Kaka smiled bitterly, "It's impossible for me to play like I used to."
He touched his knee, then took a deep breath and said, "But I am also looking for other methods."
At this, Ancelotti showed a relieved smile.
Kaka had not been defeated by injuries but was actively looking for solutions.
"You are still in my tactical system," Ancelotti stated directly.
Kaka's eyes lit up, "How exactly should I play? Still the same as before?"
Ancelotti shook his head, "Your explosiveness has decreased, so you can only adapt to other playing styles, similar to Pirlo's deep-lying playmaker and organizer roles.
These are the directions you need to try."
"At the same time, at the beginning of the season, your main task will be changes in rhythm, namely the tempo setter!"
Kaka immediately nodded.
"No problem."
After chatting for a while longer, Ancelotti then left Kaka's villa.
From the moment he arrived at Real Madrid, Ancelotti had already entered work mode.
He analyzed each player individually, while also simulating his previous ideas in his mind.
Once he decided to sign the coaching contract with Real Madrid, he began to pay attention to Real Madrid's players and continuously simulated and tested the feasibility of various tactics.
Ancelotti was puffing away at his desk, which was a chaotic mess.
He picked up a document containing data on Benzema, Bale, and Suker, carefully comparing the figures and constantly moving pieces around on the tactics board beside him.
Click, clack, click, clack!
Tactical pins moved incessantly, while a marker pen drew various lines, corresponding to different attacking directions.
Ancelotti's mind was racing.
He wasn't Mourinho; he wouldn't adopt a purely defensive tactical system.
Even as an Italian Head Coach, he was relatively offensive.
During his time at Milan, he developed the Christmas Tree Formation and gathered four number tens to control the midfield.
With such imaginative thinking, he was hailed as a modern tactical master.
Currently, Ancelotti was focusing on Real Madrid's forward line combination.
By the end of the season, Real Madrid's forward combination, namely Bale, Benzema, and Suker, had already shown a certain level of combat effectiveness.
However, this tactic was too one-sided and couldn't integrate with the overall system.
Therefore, what he needed to do was to consolidate all these small inspirations and, at the same time, use the midfield structure to connect the entire team.
He believed that once this tactic was built, Real Madrid would quickly regain its combat effectiveness.
Real Madrid inherently had a good foundation.
On the front line, Benzema, Suker, and Bale had strong complementarity, and with a little refinement, they could form a sharp attacking combination.
In midfield, Kroos and Casemiro, combined with Kaka, could also form a stable midfield.
Not much effort was needed for the defense; it had to be said that Mourinho had polished Real Madrid's defense very well.
Last season, the reason Real Madrid played passively was not due to the defense, but more from the influence of the midfield.
Analyzing these reasons one by one, masking the flaws, and amplifying the strengths.
At the same time, integrating and linking all these positions was what Ancelotti needed to do.
This work took a full three weeks.
In mid-July, Real Madrid issued a call-up.
Compared to previous years, Ancelotti's call-up was earlier.
This was also because he intended to make a significant overhaul of Real Madrid during the preparation period.
The Real Madrid players who received the summons quickly ended their holidays and began their journey back.
Suker also finished his various tasks a day early, and even though they weren't all completed, he still returned to the training base.
In fact, Suker was also curious about what kind of surprises Ancelotti would bring them.
On the first day of training, Ancelotti humorously introduced himself, leaving the players with a gentle impression.
Only Suker, Kaka, and others smirked.
Don't be fooled by this fat man's smiling appearance; he's ruthless at heart.
Of course, his ruthlessness was based on results and poor performance, or players who didn't train hard enough.
As for other players, he was able to maintain good relationships.
During his time at Milan, the entire Milan team was united, and despite Maldini's influence, Ancelotti also deserved credit.
It was the same old routine: Pintus took over the team for physical training.
But what was different was that Ancelotti would call players over one by one, explaining the tactical system to them individually, even detailing personal responsibilities and various specifics with extreme clarity.
Real Madrid players were called over one by one for individual tutoring, and then walked out in high spirits.
Ancelotti advocated an encouraging coaching style; in addition to explaining tactics, he would encourage and affirm the players, making them feel recognized and thus becoming more confident.
Not only the starters, but also the various characteristics and training methods for the substitutes were meticulously arranged by Ancelotti.
This made the substitutes feel flattered!
Many Head Coaches don't care much about substitutes, especially those in the third tier and below, who have almost no presence.
Real Madrid's first team had nearly 50 players.
Apart from the 11 starters, all the rest were substitutes!
But there were also strong substitutes like Di Maria, but more often, there were substitutes who had never even made the main squad list or played a single match.
But even for their information, Ancelotti organized it very thoroughly and gave some suggestions.
This also made these substitutes feel respected!
Their mood naturally became more pleasant.
Suker was the last one called over by Ancelotti.
In fact, by the time Suker was called, the training camp had already ended.
"Boss!"
Suker walked casually into Ancelotti's office; the old man was holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a cigar in the other.
He took a sip of coffee, then a puff of his cigar, looking quite content.
"Have a seat!"
Ancelotti pointed to the sofa; his voice was a bit hoarse, and he rubbed his temples, looking somewhat pained.
In one day, he had talked to nearly 50 people and given different suggestions; his head was really starting to ache badly.
Fortunately, only Suker was left now.
Of course, he was also the most important!
"I won't say any words of encouragement to you," Ancelotti said directly.
Suker nodded, listening quietly.
Ancelotti spoke up, "Have you reduced your strength training?"
Suker nodded, "That's right! In the middle of last season, I felt my muscles stiffen, so I stopped strength training."
"You don't want to sacrifice speed and flexibility, do you?"
Suker nodded again, "I don't want to become a pure striker who can only operate within the penalty area."
Ancelotti nodded, "If you were transitioning to a pure striker, I had planned to have you frequently make forward runs into the middle, increasing your off-ball movement to disrupt and pull the opponent's defense."
Suker grinned.
Isn't that how Cristiano Ronaldo played during his time at Real Madrid!
But Suker would not transition to a pure striker.
"In the new season, I want you to primarily move on the left wing and act as the wide core!"
"Currently, at Real Madrid, Bale and Benzema both have the ability to make vertical breakthroughs, and Benzema's finishing ability is also good, while your job is to be the strong-side core in the left attacking midfielder position!"
"You will be involved in solo runs, finishing, and organizing attacks, combining these functions, and using your rich arsenal to attack the opponent's defense!"
"Of course, in this process, you also need to actively drop back to receive the ball; our team currently lacks some attacking creativity, and you need to provide that."
"It can be said that when attacking, the entire team will act according to your will."
Ancelotti said in a deep voice.
He had considered many positions for Suker.
Central core!
Wide core!
Even a false nine core at center forward!
But in the end, the wide core was the most suitable for Suker.
First: Suker could move left and right based on his judgment, leading attacks, dictating tempo, and also creating solo attacking runs on the wing with his speed and technique.
Second: Placing Suker on the wing helped to pull the opponent's defense towards the left, which could also enhance Bale's vertical breakthrough ability on the right side.
Third: Suker's attack on the strong side could be both the starting point and the finishing point of the team's offense.
At the same time, Ancelotti would also grant Suker unlimited shooting freedom.
He believed that this was Suker's most suitable position, which could appropriately unleash Suker's abilities and also allow the team system to fully support Suker.
Even if Suker was marked, he wouldn't be unable to find a passing option.
The so-called attacking strong side inherently requires more attacking players.
And when Suker faced a double-team, he could also use continuous one-touch passes to escape, combined with his dribbling to create a strong-side attacking point that couldn't be tactically restricted.
Of course, these were Ancelotti's current ideas, and they still needed to be put into specific practice through training.
But Suker was stunned when he heard Ancelotti's arrangement.
Wide core!
Isn't this the direction Messi transitioned to during Enrique's tenure?
And, the more he looked at Ancelotti's setup, the more it resembled the 'MSN' attacking style!