Ancelotti to Managing Madrid: “Joan Martínez is showing good quality”

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti spoke to the media after the pre-season Clásico ended in a 2-1 win for FC Barcelona at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Addressing one of the more impressive performances of the evening from teenage defender Joan Martínez, Ancelotti told Kiyan Sobhani of Managing Madrid, “in his time, of course he’s showing good quality. But he needs to progress, he is really young, so he is still like a kid. But we are really pleased to have this player in our academy.”

Ancelotti on the game

“It was a game with good intensity and good plays. Obviously, we continue our line of preparation, little by little the players are coming back. We take advantage of these matches to give minutes and we continue.

Ancelotti on Vinícius Júnior

“He looked well, in good shape. You can see that he has worked during the vacations. The players are now back in good physical shape and don’t need a lot of work.”

Ancelotti on debuts for youngsters

“I think they are going to enjoy this moment. This gives them a lot of excitement. They all have very good qualities, it is not so easy to play with the first team. I love watching them play because they show quality and personality”.

Ancelotti on two defeats from two games

“The objective now is to give minutes and get the returning players fit. We are not thinking about the tactical issue or other things, just to get the players who are working now in a good condition. On a tactical level we will work from day seven.”

Ancelotti on Modrić playing every minute of pre-season

“He is very well, like the others. He has returned well. He has this physical structure that allows him to play. I didn’t talk to him during the match, he was fine and he played until the end.”

Ancelotti on whether defeats matter in pre-season

“Let’s not go crazy. These are pre-season games, we’re missing eight players... It’s not as important for us the result as getting the players into a good shape.”

Ancelotti on Lunin, Militão and Rodrygo

“Now Courtois has played, he did well. Militão has come back in a good condition as well. Rodrygo didn’t play because he was a bit tired and I think he’s going to play 45 minutes next game.”