Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has insisted that Juventus will be nothing like Atletico Madrid in their Champions League semi-final.
Los Blancos take on the Bianconeri in the first-leg of the tie at the Juventus Stadium on Tuesday evening, and Ancelotti is confident Madrid will make the most of the quality they have.
“Juve are different from Atletico and I think it will be a different match,” the Italian said.
“They have experience, great quality and won the title on Sunday. I think the most important thing is to play the best, using all the quality that we have.
“We want to attack, prepare these two games by plaing attacking football, but it will also be important to defend.”
Ancelotti then hinted at where he would play Sergio Ramos, even suggesting the defender could play in the midfield as he did against Atletico.
“We will play with four defenders,” Ancelotti continued. “I’ve used Ramos as a midfielder and he could do it again tomorrow.”
The 55 year old also commented on the difficulty of beating Juventus at home as well as his previous connection with the side.
“Juve have always been a competitive team and winning here is not easy,” he said. “I coached here for two years, I was happy with the club and felt a part of the fans. I learned a lot here.
“If Juve has reached the semi-finals it means that they deserve to be here. It was a surprise but that is not to say that it was favoured.
“We were drawn with Bayern [Munich] last year and we won. Allegri has done a great job, had good sense and balance. He put his ideas into a team that already had some good ideas.”
The former Milan coached then discussed his decisions to call up Gareth Bale and Chicharito as well as the current state of injuries in the side.
“Chicharito? Everyone is pleased with him,” Ancelotti continued. “He has played a lot and we are here because of him. He was ready when I called him.
“He will enter the game at a time when he can exploit the opposition. We have to realize a dream, to win back the Champions League after last year. We will do everything to achieve this goal. We know it will be difficult but we’re too close.
“Bale is fine. He had a small injury but we gave him time to recover. He played 30 minutes against Sevilla and went well.
“The team is fine. We had problems in January and we have some injured players, but we have replaced them the best we can.”
Ancelotti then highlighted some of the danger men in his former side including Andrea Pirlo who he previously coached at Milan.
“Pirlo? I have read that he considers me as a father and I consider him a brother,” he stated.
“I do not know [how Juventus will line up]. Juventus are one of the few teams that play smoothly with three or four [at the back]. The only question for us is that we must try to impose our style of play and identity.
“Vidal? We have to consider all players. Juve are a solid team, we are not focused on only one player, but on the whole team.”
The Los Blancos coach finished the press conference with a final statement.
“We are two different teams with different players and tomorrow everyone will try to impose these qualities. This is the Champions League and these the semi-finals. If you’re afraid you lose, you win if you dare.”
