Real Madrid Manager Carlo Ancelotti bullish – ‘The problem with managers of the younger generation is…’

Real Madrid Manager Carlo Ancelotti has responded to tactical criticism with a steady resolution in his answers, following defeat to Atletico Madrid on Sunday night. He also fired back a negative of his own, directed at the new school of managers.

Ancelotti told the press that even if his diamond system, implemented this season, had its weak points out wide, it gave them enough benefits elsewhere. He was also asked whether moving Rodrygo Goes and Vinicius Junior further into the middle was benefitting their game.

“The mistake that the new generation of managers makes are that they give too much information to their players for when they have the ball. And I, who am from the old school, give more freedom to creativity.”

“Without the ball, everything has to be sacrifice and concentration. They need to know where to be at all times. That’s clear. But with the ball there must be room for creativity.”

“If they want to open up and attack from the wing, I’m never going to tell them not to go out wide, because it’s about interpretation. It depends on the creativity of the players you have, the more creative they are, the less instructions they need, the less creative players you give them more instructions. I don’t want to diminish everyone’s creativity.”

Ancelotti certainly raises an interesting debate. As time goes on it appears that managers are demanding more mechanised attacking systems in order to try and break down the opposition.

However the game threatens to become a chess match, and the opposition can counter these moves positionally. If players are working with a rough plan but left to work out solutions for themselves, it is much harder to work out the counter-measure. As ever, balance is usually the answer.