Thursday 4 August 2016

Ancelotti looking forward to integrating Euro stars

Carlo Ancelotti Madrid 

Carlo Ancelotti is pleased with his team's preseason but is eagerly awaiting working with the Euro 2016 stars who will join up with Bayern Munich this weekend.

Ancelotti's men closed out a three-match tour of the United States with a 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid on Wednesday, but despite the adverse result, Ancelotti said his team is on a good path toward serious competition.

"I am happy because we played a good game, very good control of the game," he said. "So, because we are in preseason, we have to continue to work to do better in the second half."

But with players like Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, Jerome Boateng and Manuel Neuer among those who will reintegrate with the team prior to the German Super Cup, Ancelotti is looking forward to having his whole squad available.

"The international players arrive Friday, they start work on Friday, they stay with us so we have time to prepare for the Super Cup on the 14th and also the start of the Bundesliga," the manager said.

Ancelotti had to be a bit creative with his lineups during the U.S. tour, utilizing players like David Alaba and Philipp Lahm in a number of different positions. The players are likely to settle into more defined roles once all of Bayern's stars are at the Italian's disposal.

"Right now we’ve got him playing in different position because we don’t have the full squad, so I’ve put him in different positions," Ancelotti said of Lahm. "I think he’s going to have a more specific position. I also have to say he’s played well in all the positions of the field. He can play as a fullback, as a forward, as a midfielder, it’s perfect there."

One player who will join Bayern's training sessions for the first time under Ancelotti is Portugal star Renato Sanches. The 18-year-old signed with the Bavarian giants before helping his country to the Euro 2016 title, but Ancelotti said he'll be brought along slowly.

"I think he’s a fantastic player," Ancelotti said. "He’s really young. We have to take care of this but he has a lot of quality, a lot of potential. It’s a fantastic signing for us, and I think he will help us build a fantastic squad."

No comments:

Post a Comment