madristar

in his press conference after the session, Mou talked about several things. He was asked about the possibility of Ruud van Nistelrooy coming over in the winter transfer market, of which he said, “if he comes, I’ll be happy, but we’ll see what happens. I know him well as a player and a person.” By the way, Raúl and RvN were spotted chatting after playing each other yesterday in the Bundesliga. Apparently, the conversation went like this. RvN asked Raúl what he should do, and Raúl replied, “return!

n his press conference after the session, Mou talked about several things. He was asked about the possibility of Ruud van Nistelrooy coming over in the winter transfer market, of which he said, “if he comes, I’ll be happy, but we’ll see what happens. I know him well as a player and a person.” By the way, Raúl and RvN were spotted chatting after playing each other yesterday in the Bundesliga. Apparently, the conversation went like this. RvN asked Raúl what he should do, and Raúl replied, “return!

Mou’s press conference In his press conference after the session, Mou talked about several things. He was asked about the possibility of Ruud van Nistelrooy coming over in the winter transfer market, of which he said, “if he comes, I’ll be happy, but we’ll see what happens. I know him well as a player and a person.” By the way, Raúl and RvN were spotted chatting after playing each other yesterday in the Bundesliga. Apparently, the conversation went like this. RvN asked Raúl what he should do, and Raúl replied, “return!!” Of Karim Benzema, Mou told the journalists that the whistles of the fans as Karim was subbed out against Atleti were not directed towards the player, but were motivated by the substitution: “the stadium was whistling me, because when it was tied at 1-1, I subbed out a forward. They wanted the team to continue playing with a center forward. I don’t mind if the stadium whistles at me.” He went on to say, “I’m happy with Karim. He’s working harder than ever, and making a strong effort to change his personality as a player and to get to the high level demanded by Real Madrid. He’s not scoring many goals, because he lacks the mentality of a player that wants to score a lot. A forward should have this desire, which is almost like an obsession, to score. If another forward comes, it’s not anything against Karim but rather because the team needs another ’9.’ He’ll improve, and we support him; he’s going to play a lot of games whether another forward comes or not. And he’ll score.” As for MFC Álvaro Morata, Mou remarked, “Real Madrid has their forward for the next 10 years, but they have to be patient (or as Sergio would say, be patience), he will continue working and score a lot of goals with Castilla… We have the hope and the conviction that he will get to the first team and he will write his history in Real Madrid, the same as Canales.” He also criticized the canteranos, the press and the players’ entourages a bit, saying that “the first division is full of former Real Madrid players who didn’t triumph here because they didn’t know how to wait… who gets to the first team at the age of 17? Maradona, Zidane or Raúl were phenomenons. The rest need to be patient. The fault lies with the agents, the parents or the players who have their head in the clouds.” With all that said, Mou concluded with “Morata will be more of a man next year, when he should be on the first team, so we should leave him alone for now.” And when he finally got around to the game – remember that? – Mou said that Ozi will play if he recovers from his problem, but if he can’t, Kaká will start. Lass was not called up for the game because “I have all the midfielders on the team at my disposition and I prefer to have more offensive-minded ones on the bench like Canales or Pedro León. I continue to count on Lass though.”

Ancelotti demands more from Chelsea Chelsea finally ended a run of poor results with a convincing 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers. The champions ended a sequence of one victory in nine with arguably their best performance for more than two months, winning 2-0 to haul themselves back into the top four. But just as after Sunday's FA Cup third-round thrashing of Ipswich, Ancelotti refused to get carried away with the result, insisting his side needed to record an away win to demonstrate their slump was at an end. "I think a good support for us for these two games was to play at home," he said. "Now we have to check also away in the next game against Bolton." Their performance was still some way below the level Chelsea were showing at the start of the season, when they threatened to sweep all before them, but it was another step in the right direction. Ancelotti added: "We are not at the same level but we will come back to play at the same level. "We don't need to have a lot of time to come back. "It will be very important the next game against Bolton because we can say definitely that the moment is gone. "If the moment is gone, I think that we will be stronger." Chelsea were let down by their final ball in the first half and both their goals came from corners, with Branislav Ivanovic and Nicolas Anelka punishing slack defending. Ancelotti said: "If I have to judge the performance today, I can say it was good. "We could score before the first goal of Ivanovic, we could score in the first half. "But our play was good, more intensity, more quality." He added: "It was important also for us to score on the set pieces. "We had a lot of opportunities today. Ivanovic is very good with his head, he scored in an important moment. "After the first goal, the team played a good game. "Obviously, we want to score with good play, with good football. But also we have to use the set-pieces because I think we have dangerous players in the set-pieces." It was that which determined Ancelotti's selection policy, with Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, Michael Essien and Ashley Cole all recalled. "We needed to have more size," Ancelotti said. "I knew that Blackburn could use long balls and set-pieces. "So I wanted to have power in the box. "For this reason, Essien and Drogba started the game." Ancelotti, who refused to discuss the club's move for Steven Pienaar, which has stalled due to the Everton midfielder's wage demands, also insisted he never felt his job had been on the line in recent weeks. "I didn't have a doubt before, also when we lost the games because the support of my club was very close to me and the players," he said.

Ancelotti praises "unselfish" Drogba Carlo Ancelotti insisted Didier Drogba was "close to his best" despite another goal-shy effort from his striker. Drogba's display was one of few areas of concern on Saturday when they beat Blackburn Rovers 2-0 as the Barclays Premier League champions produced arguably their best outing for more than two months to end their worst run since 1996. The 32-year-old Ivory Coast international has struggled to get back to his bulldozing best since a malaria scare earlier this season and continued to look below full power against Rovers. He was unable to bully Christopher Samba and Ryan Nelsen yesterday, appeared a yard short of pace, and failed to show the kind of clinical finishing that made him one of the most feared forwards on the planet when one on one with Paul Robinson. But manager Ancelotti was happy with his contribution, saying: "Didier is very close to his best. "He played a good game for the team. "He didn't score but it doesn't matter. He played the second half for the team, he came back to help the midfielders. "It was an unselfish match for him. This is important also if he doesn't score." He added: "Didier is not the quickest player. "He's a good player because he has power, he has strength, he has ability, he has skill. "Last year, he scored 40 goals and maybe he didn't have as many opportunities as he did in this moment. "This is the life of the striker. Sometimes, you shoot one time at the goal and you score. Sometimes you have to shoot 10 times to score." Ancelotti insisted in the build-up to the game that Drogba and Michael Essien - who has also struggled to hit top form - were not undroppable. And despite opting for their sheer "size" on Saturday, the Italian suggested they were not guaranteed to start at Bolton next Monday, with Daniel Sturridge and Josh McEachran waiting in the wings. Ancelotti said of Drogba and Essien: "They are two of the most important players. "But they are not two of the most important players because they play every game. "Sometimes, they can stay out. "Also, it's very important for us that McEachran is able to play, is ready to play. "He has the quality to play from the beginning so could put more competition in the squad." Saturday's win was another step in the right direction for Chelsea following last weekend's FA Cup thrashing of Ipswich. It moved them back into the top four for at least 24 hours and kept alive their paper-thin hopes of retaining the title. Ancelotti said: "We have to play better again but we have more confidence now. "I'm sure that we will do better in the Premier League. "It's not easy to close the gap but we have to think that we are able to do this. "I don't know if it's possible. "Because we won last year, we want to do everything to be in competition until the end." Defeat signalled the end of a good run for Rovers, which had lifted them clear of the drop zone. Steve Kean has managed to limit any disruption caused by the shock dismissal of Sam Allardyce since taking charge. Diego Maradona has been heavily linked with the north-west club and has revealed he will hold talks with an English side next month. But Blackburn owners Venky's have now given Kean a guarantee that he will not be sacked for the remaining two-and-a-half years of his contract. And as well as being given the backing of his bosses, Kean believes he has already been accepted as manager by his players. "I don't feel as though I've ever had any problems with the lads," he said. "The atmosphere at the training ground is good." Kean was allowed to bring Roque Santa Cruz back to Ewood Park on Thursday and is close to signing United States midfielder Jermaine Jones, also on loan, from Schalke. "We've added Roque," Kean said. "Hopefully, we'll add another one or two.