Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has called for the international breaks to be more organised, and hit out at the Spanish FA in particular for playing two friendly matches in Equatorial Guinea and South Africa.
Speaking at the press conference ahead of his side’s match away at Almeria, the Italian admitted he was lucky that not many of his players picked up serious injuries – Sami Khedira apart, but that friendly matches in particular should be better organised to avoid tiredness.
“We’re lucky that there aren’t any international matches until March. It’s difficult for me to speak about this, but I don’t think the Spanish organisation was very good because the players slept three nights on the plane. That isn’t good. Barcelona has been unlucky with Valdés. Luckily, we don’t have any injured players. I think you can avoid injuries with better organisation,” he said.
He also revealed he has work to do to get a defensive unit together, with Marcelo and Coentrao already injured, and Raphael Varane being added to the list of absentees.
“We’re looking at what the problem is with Varane’s knee. His knee is inflamed after being with France and he can’t play. It’s a normal problem in players that have had this kind of injury. We need to fix it so that he’s back to full fitness,” Ancelotti said.
He also called on his players to be focused throughout the match, as any drop in concentration will be punished by Almeria. “It’s not going to be an easy match, mainly because Almería is playing well. They’ve had three wins in a row. They feel confident and motivated, and they’ve trained for this match over the last 15 days without any interruptions,” he told reporters.
