 "'We have the 15th': Ancelotti, Bellingham and Carvajal react to Real Madrid's Champions League win")
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said his team would be back for more silverware with the same hunger next season after claiming a record-extending 15th Champions League trophy at Wembley on Saturday.
Los Blancos held off Borussia Dortmund and then struck twice through Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior to secure a 2-0 victory.
“Here there’s no danger of our stomachs being too full… tomorrow this club will enjoy another fantastic day with our fans, then to rest, the players will go to the Euros, the Copa America, then we will return with the same desire and hope as ever,” pledged Ancelotti.
The Italian lifted the trophy for a record-extending fifth time as a coach and his players jubilantly tossed him into the air during the celebrations.
🤗@MrAncelotti || #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/g30kPWv0xU
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) June 1, 2024
“This competition gave me fantastic happiness, as a player, as a manager,” continued Ancelotti, who turns 65 on June 10.
“My target is to try to repeat the same emotion that we (have) the week after this game, this is the target.
“I have the luck to the be at the best club in the world.”
The coach said he rated the team’s performance this season as “10 out of 10” after severe injuries to several key players including David Alaba, Eder Militao and Thibaut Courtois, the latter of whom started the final.
Madrid, who completed a La Liga and Champions League double for the fifth time in their history, are Spain’s dominant force.
That advantage may be further increased by the signing of France striker Kylian Mbappe at the end of his Paris Saint-Germain deal, a move expected to be announced in the coming days.
Madrid will lose German midfield metronome Toni Kroos, retiring from football after Euro 2024.
“What will happen now? Something will happen. We lost an important player, we will have other players to take over,” said Ancelotti.
“As we have always done, we adapt to the characteristics of the players that we have, to be competitive.”
Ancelotti said coming back to Madrid for a second stint in charge was a “gift” for him, having returned in 2021.
The Italian said he was delighted to be at a “family” club, with his son Davide Ancelotti operating as his assistant.
“We’re a family, Real Madrid is a family, a football family,” continued the coach.
“There’s a healthy, clean environment. Working in a family is a lot better than working in an industry.
“Obviously he helps me a lot because he can tell me things that nobody else can tell me.”
Bellingham and Carvajal react
Jude Bellingham said his first taste of Champions League glory with Real Madrid was the “best night of my life”.
“I have always dreamed of playing in these games,” an emotional Bellingham told TNT Sports. “You go through life and there are so many people who say you cannot do things. I was alright until I saw my mum and dad’s face.
“My little brother is there and I’m trying to be a role model for him. I cannot put it into words. The best night of my life.”
The England international and his team-mates struggled to create anything against a dominant Dortmund for much of the game.
“I have to be honest, they were the better team in the first half,” Bellingham told DAZN.
😋@BellinghamJude || #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/KcPYQQsycw
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) June 1, 2024
“They could have been two or three up, but it’s just that character… (Madrid can) come back to haunt you.”
The midfielder paid credit to his former side Dortmund for playing their part in his journey to the game’s summit.
“Huge respect for both clubs – the club I’m at now is so special to me and so is my old club,” continued the 20-year-old.
“It wouldn’t be possible without them. I’ll always be grateful and always have respect for what that club did for me.”
Carvajal was an unlikely hero as the right-back, along with Nacho, Luka Modric and Kroos, in the final game of his club career, joined Madrid legend Paco Gento as the only players to win the competition six times.
The Spanish international admitted his side had ridden their luck during a dominant first 45 minutes from Dortmund, who struck the post through Niclas Fuellkrug.
“We knew it would be a tough game, and the first half they were very superior but we got out alive,” said Carvajal.
“We knew our moment would come, and it did, and we have the 15th.”
Midfielder Kroos set up Carvajal’s opener and impressed on his final appearance for the club ahead of retirement this summer.
“Kroos has finished his career in the best way, everybody wanted him to retire like this,” Ancelotti told TVE.
“It’s a fantastic career – we’re very sad but we have to respect it.”
The Italian coach pledged there would be big celebrations on Sunday back in the Spanish capital.
“Tomorrow (I’ll have a) cigar, sunglasses, we sing, we dance, we’ll do it all,” said the jubilant coach.
With agency inputs
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