Carlo Ancelotti Gives Thoughts On Todd Boehly’s Dressing Room Talk
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has labelled Todd Boehly’s decision to lead a dressing room talk after Chelsea’s defeat to Brighton a ‘good move’.
The Real boss is set to face his former club once again in midweek in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter final clash, having won the first leg 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Ancelotti will return to Stamford Bridge with his former side Chelsea in the midst of somewhat of a crisis. Caretaker manager Frank Lampard has, so far, failed to steady the ship at the Blues since taking over from the recently-sacked Graham Potter, losing all three of his games in charge thus far.
Perhaps the most damning of these defeats came at the weekend at the hands of Brighton and Hove Albion, who thoroughly outplayed Chelsea in an eventual 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge.
After the defeat, Boehly along with owners Behdad Eghbali and Hansjorg Wyss are believed to have gone into the dressing room, with Boehly in particular laying into the players for their recent performances.
When asked about Boehly’s dressing room talk during his press conference, Ancelotti stated that he believed it was a ‘good move’ for the new owner to make.
“From the owners it could be an important motivation for the players,” he said. “The Chelsea moment is not a good moment, I think to have the support of the club could inspire the players to play better.
“I think it is a good move to do this and if the clubs want to come and talk to the players I have no problem, absolutely. If he [Madrid’s president] wants to talk to me every game I am pleased because I think the owner has the right to know what are the decisions of the managers, so it is the right of the club to know what the manager does.”
Frank Lampard on Todd Boehly team talk
Current caretaker boss Lampard, in his press conference, also insisted that he didn’t have a problem with Boehly coming into the dressing room.
“I am comfortable with that,” he said. “For me, there was maybe some criticism of our old owner [Abramovich] of not coming to the games and not being around. That wasn’t always true, to be fair.
“But I think when an owner is very invested in their interest in the team and want to help and improve, it is their prerogative to have the input that they want. I remember the moments as a player of owners first coming into dressing rooms – it actually happened here at Chelsea, it never really happened to me before.
“I remember being really happy that you could touch them, you could high-five them, you could listen to them and feel them. So I don’t think it is a bad thing in terms of the identity of the club and where you want to get to.
“I have no problem with it from my point of view. I had my things I wanted to say after the game. If the owner wants to come in be positive, speak to the players be positive. Like Kepa has said there, it can be very regular in the modern day. No problem. In fact, it shows passion and that’s the first thing I like.”
