Football
ESPN staff 9y

Atletico's Diego Simeone: Real Madrid should retain Carlo Ancelotti

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has warned that Real Madrid would be making a mistake if they dismissed Carlo Ancelotti.

Ancelotti is under pressure at the Bernabeu after seeing Real eliminated from the Copa del Rey and Champions League, while they trail La Liga leaders Barcelona by four points with two games remaining.

However, Simeone -- whose Atletico side were beaten by Real in last season's Champions League final -- said the Italian should be allowed to continue.

"He is a fantastic coach and a great man manager," Simeone told a news conference. "It's obvious that if Madrid let him go they will lose an important figure because he is the man who brought together the squad. If Ancelotti leaves, it'll be Madrid's loss."

Ancelotti said at his own news conference that his sole focus was on winning the upcoming league games against Espanyol and Getafe.

Asked whether he had spoken to club president Florentino Perez about his future, the former AC Milan boss said: "There is a lot of interest in this topic, but we have two matches left and we have to give it our all in both.

"We still have a chance of winning La Liga so I'm not going to speak about my future just yet. Out of respect for all concerned, we'll keep fighting. There'll be time to discuss my future afterwards."

Real suffered a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Juventus in the Champions League semifinals, but Ancelotti said it was "difficult to say" whether he considered it surprising that reaching the last four of the competition would be deemed a failure.

He added: "We had the chance to make the final. We let ourselves down in the first leg but we also had bad luck but these things happen in football. You have to respect and accept what happens out on the pitch. On a personal level I am a little disappointed because we deserved to be in another final."

Ancelotti has had to cope with speculation over his potential successor at the Bernabeu, but he said he had no issue with that.

"It doesn't annoy me," he said. "What will annoy me is if the team doesn't fight tomorrow. We will respond and show that we are professionals."

Zinedine Zidane, Ancelotti's former assistant, has been touted for the job despite the former France international enduring a disappointing season in charge of Real Madrid's Castilla side.

Ancelotti spoke out in defence of the former Real midfielder, saying: "The academy's main aim is to improve the standard of the young players and in that aspect he has done a fantastic job because now the club have players with big futures ahead of them."

Marca reports that some sources at the club have said that, despite Castilla's disappointing season, Zidane is set to replace Ancelotti this summer and oversee an overhaul of the playing squad.

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