Dubai: Victory over AC Milan in Tuesday’s Dubai Football Challenge at The Sevens stadium here would help Real Madrid build momentum towards a record 24 consecutive competitive wins, Los Blancos coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Monday.
Fresh from their 2-0 Fifa Club World Cup final win over Argentina’s San Lorenzo in Morocco last week, Real have now won their last 22 consecutive games in all competitions and are on course to break the world record of 24 wins in a row set by Brazilian side Coritiba, whose record winning streak ran from February to May 2011.
Real’s friendly against AC Milan won’t count in the tally, as it’s not a competitive fixture, but Ancelotti’s side won’t want to lose momentum ahead of their upcoming games away to Valencia (January 4) and Atletico Madrid (January 7) — the side they last lost against back in September. If they win those two games, they would break the record with victory at home to Espanyol on January 10.
“We are not going to kill the players,” said Ancelotti. “What they need is rest, but we will play this match the best we can, and the team is motivated because if we win this game it helps us win the next match.
“This week is important to prepare for the next games. Here in Dubai the weather and atmosphere is good for us, which gives us good motivation for our games next week.
“We are all happy to be in this moment and we hope it will be the same in the future. But we have to pay attention because football can be a little strange — when everything seems good, that’s the moment you fall down. So we must stay focused and concentrated to continue.
“In football there are no secrets to success,” he added. “There is only hard work, professionalism and organisation.”
Ancelotti added that he would field a full-strength side against AC Milan, with only injured defender Sergio Ramos missing out.
“Every player that is here is going to play,” he said. “I cannot tell you the line-up from the beginning but all will play. The only players who won’t be playing are those still in Madrid due to injury. But Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema are going to play and I hope they will play well.
“We are happy to be here in Dubai because we have a lot of support here in the Middle East. Of course we are happy to come here, to play this game, show our quality and give happiness to our supporters.”
Real and Spain players Isco and Dani Carvajal both agreed the AC Milan match would help the team continue their winning run.
“We know 2015 will be very difficult at the beginning,” midfielder Isco said. “We will carry on the way we ended 2014 and look to continue the very long number of consecutive victories. The team is mentally prepared to face the challenge next year.”
Right-back Carvajal added: “It’s a match we were asked to do in the winter break but we will take it very seriously. We are excited about this match because it is good preparation for us as January will be a hard month for us.”
