Kroos stood by his coach and praised his qualities ahead of the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool on Saturday.
Ancelotti’s tactical genius has been questioned over the years
Carlo Ancelotti is considered to be a great man-manager, but his tactical genius has been questioned over the years. However, Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos stressed that it is not fair for the Italian to be seen as a coach who has no tactical knowledge. Kroos stood by his coach and praised his qualities ahead of the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool on Saturday. “It’s a pity that Jupp Heynckes and Ancelotti are reduced to being good dressing room managers,” Kroos told reporters. “I don’t think they are done justice. It sounds like they don’t know anything about tactics. They may take the less complicated footballing route most of the time, but they are very clear about how they want their teams to play, defend and attack. That aspect is not usually considered when you talk about them.”
According to Kroos, Liverpool are a better team than in 2018
Kroos went on to admit that Liverpool have improved since the 2018 Champions League final and stressed that Real Madrid have the same chances of winning the trophy this year as their opponents. “In a Champions League final, you give everything, especially considering that we had to give everything on more than one occasion to reach the final,” added Kroos. “Now we’re there, and we want to win it. Honestly, I think Liverpool are a better team than in 2018. It’s 50:50.” The German midfielder also praised his teammate Karim Benzema for filling Cristiano Ronaldo’s void after the latter departed to Juventus. “It wasn’t easy to become an even better player,” noted Kroos.
“I’ve been watching him for eight seasons in all sorts of different roles, not in other positions, but in terms of the jobs, he does on the pitch. We couldn’t make up for Cristiano Ronaldo’s 50 goals with one player until Karim took on that role perfectly.”