Carlo Ancelotti on Vinicius – ‘A player has to respect the coach’

Former Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has spoken about his relationship with Vinicius Junior, whom he now coaches for the Brazilian national team. Vinicius was handed a starting spot by Ancelotti when he arrived in his second spell at the club, and enjoyed the best form of his career under the Italian.

Ancelotti signed a contract with the CBF last summer to take over until the end of the 2026 World Cup, after Real Madrid decided to move on from him. After stories emerged this week that he was set to sign an extension before the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico, he confirmed that he was on course to a pen a new four-year deal which would take him until the World Cup in 2030, in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

‘A player has to respect the manager’ – Ancelotti

Earlier in the year, Ancelotti had described Vinicius’ outburst at manager Xabi Alonso as ‘a mistake’, and confirmed he had spoken to the former about it. Addressing Universo Valdano, Ancelotti claimed Vinicius’ attitude had improved.

“I’ve spoken to him about it. A player has to respect the coach and his teammates. His attitude on the field has improved a lot,” he told Movistar+, as quoted by Diario AS.

“Brazilians are very humble, they’re very different. The Vini who comes here is very different from the one at Real Madrid, on a human level.”

Ancelotti on Xabi Alonso spell

On Alonso’s short-lived tenure at Real Madrid, Ancelotti highlighted that perhaps the Basque manager needed to be less rigid in his approach.

“He has encountered difficulties… The spirit of adaptation is a very important component in a coach’s job, and trying to recreate an atmosphere takes time, which isn’t always possible.”

While Alonso was criticised for his handling of some areas of the team during his time at Real Madrid, many of his issues were also put down to the idiosyncracies of the club. In particular, President Florentino Perez came in for significant criticism, although that has eased somewhat since an improvement under Alvaro Arbeloa.