Thomas Tuchel Showered Carlo Ancelotti with Praise
The FC Bayern coach, Thomas Tuchel, today hailed his Real Madrid counterpart, Carlo Ancelotti, as "a legend" and admitted that playing against the White team tomorrow will be playing "against experience, against the jersey, and against the myth".
Tuchel gushed over Ancelotti: "Carlo shows calmness and has experience. He's like a fatherly figure, which is one of his strong points. Experience also helps with coaches. He's also a legend. What he did for football as a player and also as a coach is top-level. He's exceptional, and he deserves to be in this phase of the Champions League and so high in LaLiga."
For Tuchel, playing against Real Madrid is playing "against a myth". That's why we're going to prepare well: "We have one less day of preparation, and we must make the most of these days. Everyone is excited about this match, including myself."
Regarding the lineup, he assured that he still doesn't know "one hundred percent" if the injured players will be fit to play tomorrow and that he will make "last-minute decisions" throughout the day.
"The latest I know about Konny is that he wants to try. With Matthijs (de Ligt) and Upa (Dayot Upamecano), we have to wait," he said, also indicating that "a little more patience" is needed regarding Leroy Sané and Jamal Musiala.
In this regard, Tuchel emphasized that he approaches Tuesday's semifinal as if it were a final.
"Four affected players would be too much if we know that none of them can make it to the end of the match," he stated. And he pointed out that the focus will be on doing "everything possible to win" during tomorrow's match without deciding the lineup based on a possible final in Wembley.
The Bayern coach expressed confidence that his 'star' Gnabry "will score," as the player himself stated days ago. "I don't know, but I'm sure it will happen," Tuchel concluded.