Ancelotti: I’m Finding It Very Hard To Focus On Football

Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, said on Monday that he couldn’t bring himself to discuss football ahead of his team’s Champions League match against AC Milan due to the devastating floods in the Valencia region.

The La Liga match between Los Blancos and Valencia scheduled for Saturday was postponed due to the ongoing situation in eastern Spain, where at least 217 people have lost their lives and many others remain missing.

European champions Madrid face Ancelotti’s former team Milan on Tuesday, with whom he won the competition twice, in 1989 and 1990.

“I hope (the situation) can be resolved quickly, and I hope you can understand that talking about football is very hard,” Ancelotti told a news conference.

“We are part of this country and all this affects us… I don’t feel like talking about football.

“For me, tomorrow is a very special game, but I will try to speak (about it) as little as possible.”

Ancelotti said football should not have been played over the weekend in Spain, with eight La Liga matches going ahead.

Several coaches, including Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone, along with players, expressed over the weekend that they would have preferred not to play.

“Nobody wanted to play; that seemed the right decision to me, but it’s not us in charge; those above us make the decision,” continued Ancelotti.

“There are many ways to help… football should have stopped, and after that, football can and should help.”