Real Madrid News

The former Real Madrid director has hinted that the current Paris Saint-Germain boss could be the perfect replacement for Jose Mourinho

Jorge Valdano has praised the attributes of Carlo Ancelotti, fuelling rumours he could replace Jose Mourinho at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The former Blancos director thinks the Italian coach has the characteristics to manage the biggest names in world football and is still improving, even at the age of 53.

Mourinho’s future with Real Madrid appears uncertain and Valdano thinks the current Paris Saint-Germain boss would be a fitting replacement.

“Ancelotti is a coach who understands the star players,” the 57-year-old told Marca.

“He has matured in the last few years. It is necessary, as it has been in the past, to have a coach with so much personality.”

The 1986 World Cup winner also hailed Xabi Alonso for his performances in midfield but was coy on the ongoing debate as to who should start in attack for Madrid between Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema.

He continued: “To play in the he middle of the field for Real Madrid is very demanding. I think replacing him is a very difficult challenge if he was to leave. Xabi Alonso is the second most important player at Real Madrid in terms of the impact he has on the game.

“Higuain or Benzema? Real Madrid has to find out who their coach will be next season first.”

The Portuguese has begun his customary mind games and insists he will only talk about their upcoming European encounter on the eve of the clash

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho says that Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp talks too much, ahead of the first-leg of their Champions League semi-final.

Both sides have already faced each other twice in this season’s competition, with BVB winning 2-1 at home in the group stages, before drawing 2-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

And with Klopp enjoying the superior head-to-head record between the pair on the back of those results, Mourinho has questioned why the German coach has opted to discuss their next European encounter so much in the build-up to the game.

“I have said a little bit about Dortmund and that’s enough. Since the day of the draw, Klopp talks every day,” he told reporters.

“I will talk about Dortmund this Tuesday. We have been working on this match for the past two weeks.”

Klopp recently attempted some possible mind games of his own by suggesting that Mourinho’s trip to watch Dortmund defeat Greuther Furth 6-1 last weekend was a pointless exercise.

“Mourinho will return home with reports that will be useless to him in two weeks time,” he added.

“I don’t know if Madrid will be afraid of us after what happened in the group stage.

“He left after the 5-0 and didn’t see our weaknesses. But if he wanted to see whether [Mario] Gotze can play on the left, he can call me.”

The first leg takes place in Dortmund on Wednesday, with the return fixture at the Bernabeu on April 30.

The Portuguese says there is no such thing as the perfect club but has put talks over his future on hold until the end of the season

Jose Mourinho has insisted that he is not unhappy at Real Madrid amid ongoing rumours that he is set to leave the club at the end of the 2012-13 campaign.

The Portuguese coach admitted that his relationship with Madrid is not perfect, but remains determined to finish the season on a high before making a decision about his future.

“I’m not unhappy at Real Madrid. We need to make the decision that´s best for everyone. I may like some things and dislike others but this happens everywhere. There’s no such thing as the perfect club or the perfect manager,” Mourinho said at a press conference.

“We need to focus on finishing the season as well as possible, on achieving goals that are still very far away. We are two matches away from the Champions League, not long ago we were 13. When we take all this pressure off the time will be right to sit down and get to conclusions.”

The former Inter boss then went on to discuss Canillas president Manuel Alvarez’s claims that Mourinho has told him he will leave Madrid this summer.

“If I talk about Canillas I talk about a second home for me and my son. It´s a great club, but there’s one problem. The president really likes press and attention. He is a terrific person and he treats me and my son really well, but he’s got this little issue.

“He really likes press, but that’s not my concern. I can confirm that I told him I will not be able to give the coaching conference. Next year I can’t say I will be giving the conference. I really don’t think I will.”

Mourinho also briefly had his say on the upcoming Champions League match versus Borussia Dortmund and their head coach Jurgen Klopp.

He continued: “I have said a little bit about Dortmund and that´s enough. Since the day of the draw, Klopp talks every day.

“I will talk about Dortmund this Tuesday. We have been working on this match for the past two weeks.”

Wednesday’s semi-final, first-leg tie takes place at BVB’s Signal Iduna Park, with the return scheduled for the following week.

With Madrid failing regularly to keep clean sheets at home, our Spanish expert Phil Kitromilides believes there will be goals at either end on Saturday afternoon

Real Betis’ recent trips to Santiago Bernabeu have ended in heavy defeats with the side from Seville conceding 12 goals in their last three games away to Real Madrid.

However, Betis did manage to defeat Madrid at home earlier on this season, and with Jose Mourinho likely to field a far-from-full-strength side given los Blancos’ midweek Champions League semi-final first leg, Betis might feel they have a chance of recording an unlikely double.

BetVictor price an away win at 10/1 (11.00) while Madrid can be backed at 2/7 (1.29) and the draw is offered at 11/2 (6.50).

Having said this, it is worth remembering that the reigning Spanish champions have a staggering home record.

It is 14 months since anyone defeated them at home in any competition, and when one considers the calibre of some of the opposition they have faced during that time, the challenge facing Betis is put into stark perspective.

Nevertheless, there will be changes to Madrid’s starting XI, which makes backing both teams to score at 8/11 (1.73) even more attractive than it might already have been.

Though Madrid have been imperious at home it is not because of their defensive record with los Merengues managing just six clean sheets in 15 league games at Santiago Bernabeu this season. Betis for their part have scored eight goals in their last two games and in Ruben Castro boast the second-highest scoring Spaniard in the division.

Both teams to score looks an extremely solid selection, while for a value bet try backing Castro (who has 16 league goals this season) to open the scoring priced at 11/2 (6.50).

Sign up with BetVictor for a £25 free bet and back Phil’s selections for this match

Phil Kitromilides is a sports anchor working on TV in Madrid. You can also follow Phil on Twitter.

The Frenchman has caught the interest of several European giants this season, but the Nerazzurri have decided to turn their attention elsewhere due their own financial constraints

EXCLUSIVE
By Fabrizio Romano

Inter have made the decision to pull out of the race for Sevilla midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia due to financial reasons, Goal.com understands.

Kondogbia joined Sevilla from Lens in the summer of 2012 and has since developed into an important first-team player for the Liga side.

The Nerazzurri have been keeping tabs on the 20-year-old for a number of months, with sporting director Piero Ausilio in particular a keen admirer of the midfielder, and they see Kondogbia as a potentially valuable addition to their squad in the long term.

Nevertheless, they have decided to bring their pursuit of the Frenchman to an end due to Sevilla’s excessive demands as they seem to have no intention to let Kondogbia go for anything less than his €20 million buy-out clause.

Additionally, Inter face stiff competition from clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, as well as a number of Premier League outfits, and have therefore turned their attention to cheaper alternatives, with Cagliari star Radja Nainggolan back on their radar once more.

Andrea Stramaccioni showed an interest in signing the 24-year-old last year, but eventually failed to lure him away from his current club.

Cagliari could be willing to cash in on the Belgium international, who has a contract until 2015, for a fee in the region of €15m this summer, though, and Inter are closely monitoring his situation.