El Clasico: Carlo Ancelotti picks players who will come out on top in head-to-head comparison
The biggest fixture in club football is just around the corner with Real Madrid and Barcelona set to take on each other at the Camp Nou. The reverse fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu ended 4-0 in favour of Barcelona – a result that eventually saw Rafa Benitez lose his job with Zinedine Zidane taking over.
One other manager who was at the club and led them to La Decima (their tenth Champions League crown) was also sacked with no clear reason when they went trophyless the next season. Fans scratched their heads when Carlo Ancelotti was asked to leave at the end of last season even though the club have a record of firing managers at will.
Ancelotti is now set to take over at Bayern Munich next season. Before the upcoming Clasico on Saturday night, he penned his thoughts for Sina Sports on which players from both sides would come out on top in the Clasico based on each player’s form this season.
The Italian manager was on the fence when picking players for most of the positions but was very clear on some others.
More: Sportskeeda’s Combined XI for El Clasico
For example, he couldn’t pick a goalkeeper outright and was torn between Claudio Bravo and Keylor Navas. But he did prefer the Madrid shot-stopper saying, “Keylor has been more crucial to Madrid.”
In defence, he mentioned that the left-backs were good in attack but needed to “pay attention in defence, especially Dani Alves”. For the centre-back pairing, he picked Gerard Pique because he was “concentrating and making all decisions accurately” this season while also going with Sergio Ramos because he was the “heart of Real Madrid” in important games.
He was very clear on the left-back role, though, and went with Marcelo because his influence on the Real Madrid side was bigger than Alba’s at Barcelona.
In central midfield, he said there was “no doubt” that Sergio Busquets was one of the best central midfielders in the world. “Casemiro has improved a lot recently but isn’t as key,” Ancelotti said.
Ancelotti picks Rakitic and Neymar over Kroos and Bale
When asked to choose between Ivan Rakitic and Toni Kroos, he went with the Croatian midfielder, stating: “The form of Rakitic is incredible, both mentally and physically. His contribution to Barcelona is essential. Kroos is vital but hasn't reached Rakitic's level.”
However, he was on the fence again when asked to pick either Luka Modric or Andres Iniesta.
In attack, he went with Brazilian forward Neymar instead of Gareth Bale mainly because Real Madrid’s Welsh winger had missed a number of games with injury.
“The growth of Neymar this season is evident,” Ancelotti explained. “His form is spectacular, and you see his importance to the team. Bale is decisive for Madrid but has lost a lot games through injury. Right now, Neymar is better.”
For the striker’s position, Ancelotti couldn’t choose between either of Luis Suarez or Karim Benzema. “They are different types of forwards,” Ancelotti said.
“Suarez is the class of striker just born to score – lots of mobility and can upset any defence. He’s red-hot right now.
“Benzema is good too, although he could score goals sometimes. In other aspects of the play, he has a very important influence. It’s a tough decision.”
And what about the big two? Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi?
“What can I say? Both are very good, they are the best players in the world.”