‘I have worked at many top-level clubs and Real Madrid is the biggest in the world in terms of history, organisation and demand,’ said the Italian coach.
Carlo Ancelotti, coach of Real Madrid, and Emilio Butragueño, director of Institutional Relations of Real Madrid and general director of Escuela Universitaria Real Madrid Universidad Europea, were in charge of inaugurating the 2024/25 academic year in the auditorium of the Ciudad Real Madrid. Elena Gazapo, Rector of Universidad Europea, Marisa Sáenz, Managing Director of Escuela Universitaria Real Madrid Universidad Europea, Miguel Pardeza and Manolo Sanchís, Directors of Postgraduate Programmes at Escuela Universitaria Real Madrid Universidad Europea, Álvaro Arbeloa and Santiago Solari also attended the ceremony to inaugurate the nineteenth edition.
After the broadcast of a video about Carlo Ancelotti's career at Real Madrid and the 14 titles he has won, the Italian coach commented: ‘I would like to thank the School and wish the students who are starting this fantastic experience the best of luck. May it be a fantastic and unforgettable year. ‘If there is passion behind all the work, it is less difficult to do it. I am lucky enough to do a job that I don't consider a job, because I enjoy it’, added the Madrid coach.
A winning club
‘Real Madrid has won and continues to win a lot in its history because it doesn't like to lose or draw. There are clubs that accept defeat in a different way to Real Madrid. This increases the demand and responsibility for the people who work at this club’.
The key to success
‘I have worked at many top-level clubs and Real Madrid is the biggest in the world in terms of history, organisation, demands... You realise that the most important thing here is to be successful on a sporting level. The president's work is spectacular, the club wins because of the work he has managed to do’.
An extraordinary atmosphere
‘Real Madrid is a family, we spend a lot of time here and the family atmosphere helps you to get the best out of yourself. On a personal level, I prefer to work in a family. Every day you come here you feel it’.
Second spell at the club
‘It was a coincidence. Real Madrid were looking for a coach and I was looking for Real Madrid players. I had always had a very good relationship with the club and I told them I was available.
La Décima
‘I was confident that it could happen. You need to be confident until the last second. When we scored the goal, I was convinced that we were going to win, it was very important on a psychological level’.
Nerves before the big events
‘At this club, preparing for a final is much easier than at other clubs. We have players who have won five or six and that helps. Three hours beforehand the tension starts, but it ends when the game starts.
Emilio Butragueño welcomed the students of the Real Madrid University School: ‘It is a pleasure to welcome you to Real Madrid City, this is where our teams train and where we have forged values that have made us the most loved club in the world’. ‘We admire people with character, people who never give up and who think big. Winners who lead others to achieve goals unthinkable for most. We want those values to be present in the day-to-day life of our school,’ said the Real Madrid Director of Institutional Relations.
The excellent former Real Madrid player said that he considered the event to be ‘very emotional’. He also expressed his ‘gratitude’ to the students for choosing the Real Madrid University School: ‘This is an extraordinary responsibility for us and we are going to live this wonderful adventure together’.
Elena Gazapo: ‘The shared values of two leading institutions, Real Madrid and Universidad Europea, have led us to consolidate this university project. We could not have a better start than with the participation of Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid's coach, whom I thank for being here to share this moment with our students. This year, more than 1,600 students from more than 100 different countries are going to live together’.
The event concluded with a conversation between Ancelotti and Butragueño in the presence of the new students of the school, who also had the opportunity to ask questions to the Real Madrid coach. The opening ceremony of the course ended with the usual family photo.