Carlo Ancelotti lived the Chelsea-Real Madrid game the thousandth European night to frame his legendary career. Corona’s recovery allowed him to be on the bench after missing the Celta Vigo match, and his presence in the locker room, on such important dates, is one of the details that makes a difference.
In his book Quiet Driving, Carlito dedicates some pages in which Cristiano Ronaldo describes himself. The Portuguese revealed that on the eve of decisive matches, the Italian usually jokes a lot: “He would arrive and Cristiano would say to me, there is a break for you tomorrow.”
Cristiano continues: “I always want to play, and everyone knows that, so I got angry and asked him why, and he continued the same thing, and in the end he said to me: “Tomorrow you rest until three. The match is at four, isn’t it? And he laughed…”.
Before the confrontation with Chelsea, Ancelotti lived a similar moment with Karim Benzema, the hero of another Champions League night with an unforgettable treble. Before entering Stamford Bridge, the coach and the Frenchman had a conversation that ended in laughter.
He said this himself, in front of the “Amazon Prime” cameras in Italy: “When we got off the bus I told him he would not play … because I did not find his entry card to Stamford Bridge.” Carlito’s joke didn’t last long and had a happy ending: “Fortunately, he found the card later.” What happened next is already history.
Source: AS