“Kaká is a phenomenon, he can be magical again”

The Real Madrid manager believes that Ancelotti could bring out the best in the Brazilian.

“Kaká is a phenomenon. I hope that under Ancelotti, who knows him so well, he finds the magic again”, said Florentino Pérez in an interview with Columbian website Gol Caracol. The Real Madrid president is in the Latin American country to receive an honorary title from the country’s parliament. Pérez also attended the presentation in Bogota of the charity tournament Copa Alma de la Reconciliación [The Soul of the Reconciliation Cup] to be played by children of people who were displaced in the reintegration process.

The season: “We’re starting a new era after Mourinho’s exit. We’ve got a new coach, who is also very demanding, and we’re very happy. We’re bringing in young talent, players who are hungry, which is vital if the established players aren’t to get too comfy. The mix will mean that quality and ‘madridismo’ are to the fore. Let’s see if we can win the ‘Décima’, which is one of the big dreams, because as creators [sic] of the tournament it’s something we have in our DNA. It’s a competition we enjoy. Champions League nights are magical, for the atmosphere and the dreams they bring. To win it you need a little luck, which we didn’t have last year or the year before. Madrid has to be able to beat anyone”.

La Liga: “We can’t forget about it, because it’s the day job and it’s where the fans get most satisfaction from our football. We want to win everything. Last year we won the league, scoring more than three goals a game and in recent years we’ve been in two finals of the Copa and two Champions league semi-finals. But Madrid also has to play well, even when we win everything, because otherwise the team will have the Bernabéu on its back. The fans are loyal, they turn up come rain or shine, but they are also very demanding”.

Ancelotti: “I don’t know if they will play better. Under Mourinho there were some amazing games, especially in the last league we won. And we beat Barcelona. To score 121 goals in a league will be difficult to beat. This year we didn’t start well and we never recovered”.

Kaká: “He’s a phenomenon, but he got injured after the World Cup and had to have an operation on his knee. Then Özil came to the club and took his place, but he remains one of the greats. He’s got the most number of followers on Twitter, after Cristiano. He’s got a certain magic and he gets the fans excited. I’m optimistic that Ancelotti, who knows him so well, will bring back that magic”.

Neymar: “He’s a great player and we would have loved to bring him here, but the conditions weren’t right. But it’s great that he’s going to play in the Spanish league. It gives us more motivation”.

Zidane: “He’s decided to be a coach, which is something I didn’t expect when he was a player, but he’s caught the bug. He’s done the training and he’s ready to coach. We’re hopeful he’ll start as Ancelotti’s assistant and maybe at some point he could be first team coach. Zidane is one of the players who will never be forgotten. Youngsters nowadays are saying: “Now I understand what my old man was on about with Di Stefano. Now I’ll be able to say that I saw Zidane play”.

Cristiano: “He’s the team’s reference point and the best player in the world. He’s going to give us a lot, because of his talent, his ambition and his dreams. We’ve yet to see the best of him, he’s going to be the best of all-time, or very close to it.”