Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti believes Diego Simeone has proved himself as one of the world’s best coaches, but admits that facing the Atletico Madrid boss is “a problem”.
The two sides meet for the seventh time this season on Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, with Ancelotti’s team having failed to win in any of the previous six games between them.
Madrid have lost four and drawn two against Atleti this term, missing out on the Spanish Supercopa to their city rivals, suffering elimination in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey and going down twice in La Liga – the last of those a humiliating 4-0 defeat at the Vicente Calderon in February.
Ancelotti conceded that facing the Argentine coach is difficult, but claimed his side is not obsessed with Atletico but by winning the Champions League for a second season in succession. “What can I say about Simeone?,” he asked at a press conference. “He is a great coach, I like him a lot.
He has proved himself, he is one of the best in the world. It’s an honour to face him and also a problem. “We don’t have an obsession with Atletico, but with reaching the final of the Champions League. Our objective is not to beat Atletico, but to dream of winning the Champions League. “Every match presents its own problem. Every match has its idea.
Every defeat was different. One was due to set pieces, one for something else, another due to a not very good attitude, like the last one. It’s difficult to say what happened. It’s not that interesting, but we have analysed it and now we have another tie. “We haven’t done much psychological work to forget the last six derbies.”
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