Ancelotti: “The Bernabéu Gave Kroos The Farewell He Deserves”
Carlo Ancelotti, the coach of Real Madrid, praised the farewell of German player Toni Kroos from Santiago Bernabéu, describing him as "one of the greatest" footballers in history.
"The Bernabéu gave him the farewell he deserves; it was a very emotional night. We are fortunate to enjoy another week with him. He has been one of the greatest, a great midfielder, with a lot of quality and fantastic character, with little ego and always played for the team; very altruistic. We have been lucky to have him for ten years," he said at a press conference.
"Doing better than Kroos in this club is very complicated. He made a very strong decision that nobody could imagine. He showed a lot of character and saying goodbye like this is grand. It's a farewell to a great football personality that we were lucky to have here, and football has enjoyed a great player," he added.
Ancelotti explained how his scheme will change with Kroos's retirement.
"Let's see... at an environmental and technical level. At an environmental level, those who are here must take more responsibility. At a technical level, we'll see. We might think it could be a more vertical game, with players with more energy and less game tempo," he stated.
A replacement for Kroos will not be found in Bellingham but rather by playing differently.
"I don't think so. The closer we have Bellingham to the goal, the better for us. There is no player with Kroos's characteristics in the market, but we have to replace him differently. We have midfielders with a lot of quality, and we have to adapt next season's play to their characteristics," he explained.
Additionally, he insisted that they are "waiting for the decision" Nacho Fernández and Luka Modric want to make regarding their future, as their contracts end this season. He postponed clarifying the situation until after the Champions League final on June 1st.
