Ancelotti: Atleti aren’t violent, they’re…

Carlo Ancelotti has dismissed the suggestion that Real Madrid will face violent opposition against Atletico Madrid in tomorrow’s derby.

The style employed by the champions has been called into question by some observers but Ancelotti isn’t among them, insisting Atletico stay on the right side of the law.

“Atletico aren’t a violent team, they’re intense and aggressive,” the Italian told a Press conference, according to AS.

“Football is a game for men, not for little girls.

“We won’t be changing our idea of the game. We have to play well, again, with intensity, as we have usually done.

“Our philosophy and our style won’t change. We won’t change our style and our philosophy because it has brought us results.”

Madrid’s last outing was a 4-2 defeat against Real Sociedad at Anoeta, losing the match despite taking a two-goal lead. It’s not a result Ancelotti wants to banish from memory.

“We shouldn’t forget about it. It was a good lesson. The first 30 minutes was good but we have to play 90 minutes,” he said.

“We need to avoid the mistakes as a team and as individuals. We’ve analysed what happened and we intend to put them right tomorrow.”

The derby pits the champions of Europe against the champions of Spain but Ancelotti added he isn’t interested in local bragging rights.

“It’s not important to me which team rules the capital. What’s important is who wins at the end of the season,” he stressed.

“Last season Atletico ruled the League and Madrid ruled Europe.”

He did though concede that a connection with the locality was important after comments made by his Atletico counterpart, Diego Simeone.

Simeone claimed Atletico were more a team for the average people of Madrid and while Ancelotti didn’t agree with that, he admitted he shared the sentiment.

“I think football is about the people, not just the team,” he continued.

“All teams have fans worldwide. It’s the sport of the people.”

Tags Carlo Ancelotti
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