Ancelotti in the dark as Real Madrid line up Rafa Benitez

Andy West 03:44 23/05/2015
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  • Embattled: Ancelotti.

    Ahead of what could prove to be his last game as Real Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti revealed he still does not know whether he will be in charge at the Bernabeu next season.

    Despite leading Los Blancos to last season’s Champions League title, ending an agonising 12-year wait for the club’s coveted 10th European crown, Ancelotti’s future has been subjected to intense scrutiny over the last couple of weeks.

    Madrid’s semi-final Champions League exit against Juventus and their failure to overhaul Barcelona in La Liga means Ancelotti will finish the season without a major trophy, and club president Florentino Perez is believed to have lost patience following a disappointing few months.

    Perez has not spoken publicly on Ancelotti’s future, but Napoli coach Rafa Benitez – who started both his playing career and coaching career with the club – has reportedly been lined up to take over.

    The former Liverpool and Valencia boss’s agent Manuel Garcia Quilon has added further fuel to the fire by admitting his client would be “truly happy” to accept the job, with Benitez also yet to sign a new contract with Napoli.

    Ancelotti, who also insisted his relationship with Perez remains “good”, added: “I am the manager of Real Madrid until the club tells me something different.

    “On Sunday or Monday we’ll get together and see what the future is. I haven’t spoken to the club and the club hasn’t spoken to me, but I don’t mind that other people are linked – it’s normal.

    “I think that the club is evaluating things and I want to stay here. I like this club and its players.”

    Ancelotti, who was given a warm round of applause by the media as he departed his press conference on Friday, also reiterated that his preference would be to keep hold of his job, adding: “If I stay, fantastic, because that’s what I want. And if I don’t, I will have the memory of the two years I spent here.”

    One matter that has been seized upon in the dissection of Madrid’s season has been the number of injuries they have suffered, with physical conditioning coach Giovanni Mauri set to be axed even in the unlikely scenario that Ancelotti stays.

    But the Italian backed his colleague and insisted it is too easy to second-guess the team’s physical preparations.

    “I came here with my staff, who are the best in the world,” he said. “I have a lot of faith in them. I have already said that we were harmed by injuries, but some people think the players did too much work, and others that they didn’t do enough.”

    The subject of Ancelotti’s future is enormously overshadowing Saturday’s final game of the season against mid-table Getafe.

    But it could prove to be a highly significant occasion for another of the club’s leading figures, Iker Casillas, who also faces an uncertain future with Los Blancos heavily linked with a move for Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea.

    Ancelotti confirmed that Casillas will start tonight but insisted that should not be regarded as a chance for the veteran to say farewell.

    He said: “Iker didn’t ask me to play, we decided together. He wants to stay and everyone would be happy with that.”

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