Champions Madrid will retain same winning 'desire': Ancelotti

MADRID:

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.

"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."