New coach Carlo Ancelotti says he has the “ambition and the responsibility” to help Real Madrid win a 10th European Cup – and first since 2002.
The much-decorated Italian coach signed a three-year contract to replace Jose Mourinho at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu this week and is charged with the task of toppling bitter rivals and champions Barcelona in La Liga and guiding the Spanish giants to ‘la Decima’.
It is a mission which has proved the undoing of many of his predecessors but the 54-year-old says he has no intention of shirking the issue.
Ancelotti has won league titles in Italy and England, and last season guided Ligue 1 big-spenders Paris Saint-Germain to domestic success.
He belongs to a small and elite bunch who have triumphed in Europe as a player and coach, so needs no introduction to the significance of returning Los Blancos to the summit of European football.
It is now over a decade since Spain’s capital club last won the Champions League but Ancelotti says the players, staff and fans alike are united in their objectives.
“It is a great objective, for everyone associated with the club,” Ancelotti said.
“I have the ambition and the responsibility to do this and it is not a problem. Winning the 10th European Cup could be such a huge motivation.”
Real Madrid have already drafted in Isco this summer with potentially more to come, although Gonzalo Higuain looks set to move on in the transfer window while there is still some debate over the future of Cristiano Ronaldo.
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