He real Madrid took the UEFA Champions League quarter-final series after defeating Manchester City on penaltiesin an extremely tense series for the meringues, in which they started with a missed shot by Luka Modric, but where they later achieved victory and a place in the semifinals.
What few know is that two players refused to take shots from the eleven steps and asked their coaching staff not to choose them before writing down the names of the collectors on the list.
In both cases the decision was respected and, with the intention of winning, the coach and his coaching staff decided not to include them.
Fede Valverde did not want to shoot due to fatigue
The first name was revealed by Davide Ancelotti, the coach’s son and member of the coaching staff, who said in the mixed zone after the game that Federico Valverde He refused to take his shot, even though it was scheduled to close the series.
“It was going to be the fifthbut He told me that he was very tired, and the truth was that he was dead, so we decided to let him launch Rüdiger. The decision of the pitchers is up to the coaching staff,” he explained.
Eventually, Antonio Rüdiger bathed in glory, as he scored the last penalty, which is usually one of the most important in the series, due to the responsibility that the shooter carries, given that it can give the team victory, as in this case, but also defeat.
Éder Militao took a step back due to his relationship with Ederson in the Brazilian team
The other player who excused himself and he refused to get a shot was Eder Militaousing the argument that The rival goalkeeper knew him well from the time they spent together in the Brazil team.where both have been active since 2018.
Carlo Ancelotti, DT himself was the one who told what the defender told him and added that he listened to the request because the goalkeeper had a good chance of guessing his intention and stopping his shot.
Real Madrid advances to the semi-finals
The arguments of both were valid; For different reasons, both were afraid of putting their team’s victory at risk and the strategy of the coaching staff, who respected this and wrote down the players who felt confident on the list of collectors, worked, since they won the game.
Now Real Madrid will face Bayern Munich in the semifinals, who kicked Arsenal out of the competition in the quarterfinals after a 1-0 in the second leg and a 3-2 aggregate.
The first leg duel between both teams will be on Tuesday, April 30 at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, and the second leg will be on May 8 at the Santiago Bernabéu, home of Real Madrid.
Keep reading:
· Real Madrid suffers in the Champions League, but eliminates the best team in the world on penalties and advances to the semifinals
· Nothing for anyone: In a great game of tumbling, Real Madrid and Manchester City tied 3-3
· Manchester City travels with two significant casualties for the duel against Real Madrid in the Champions League