Football
Mark Lovell, Bayern Munich blogger 7y

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: No debate on Carlo Ancelotti's Bayern Munich future

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has told Bild the future of coach Carlo Ancelotti "is not up for debate" after two tournament exits in eight days.

Bayern lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals last week and crashed out of the DFB Pokal to Borussia Dortmund in the semifinals.

Ancelotti signed a three-year deal when he succeeded Pep Guardiola last summer, and Rummenigge said: "Carlo is a very good and experienced coach.

"The length of his contract is well known, and isn't up for debate."

Bayern were angered by several contentious decisions by Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai at the Bernabeu, feeling Arturo Vidal's sending off was unjustified and that two of Cristiano Ronaldo's three goals were offside.

"Things have happened that we cannot influence," Rummenigge added. "Injuries, refereeing decisions and sometimes the necessary luck was also missing.

"We shouldn't forget -- a fortnight ago we were at grade 1+ [Germany's highest grade]."

Bayern lead the Bundesliga by eight points with four games remaining.

Speaking later at his news conference ahead of the trip to Wolfsburg, Ancelotti said he accepted some of the blame for the midweek cup loss to Dortmund but still feels aggrieved by their Champions League exit.

"Our mistake was the semifinal against Dortmund and not making it 3-1," Ancelotti said. "We weren't compact enough to defend our advantage at 2-1. And I must accept my part in that."

He added: "I'm not happy because we were very close to the Champions League semifinal and the DFB Pokal final. The small details were decisive for us.

"I said before the little details are important to win the Champions League. Injuries, refereeing decisions and having a fit team in this period. Honestly, I'm a prophet. We had injured players three days before the quarterfinal against Real Madrid. At the start of April everything was OK but then we had [Mats] Hummels and [Robert] Lewandowski injured, and in Madrid, we had bad refereeing decisions against us and we couldn't do anything about that."

Addressing the recent criticism, he added: "This is normal. We have to live with the criticism. It can help us going forward to be more focused and concentrate more.

"We have to choose which criticism is good and which is wrong. The fact is that a lot of criticism is exaggerated. I have to be cool and analyse every single game and my decisions."

The former Madrid boss welcomed Rummenigge's show of confidence but said he had not been in any doubt.

"I think the club is viewed differently from outside than from inside," he said. "I have a good feeling with the club. They have supported and have confidence in me. I also have confidence and trust in my club.

"Rummenigge and [president] Uli Hoeness have a lot of experience in this world -- they understand better than others what happened in this situation. They are able to manage and support the team, the manager, the players in this moment and move on quickly.

"I know the thoughts of Uli Hoeness because I speak with him and Rummenigge all the time. It's not news to me."

He dismissed rumours of discontent among the Bayern players.

"No, nobody is unhappy," he said. "That's untrue. I speak every day with the players. If they are not happy, I don't know anything about that. I have my own style and philosophy and I'll stay with it."

Quizzed about his apparent reluctance to use younger members of his squad, Ancelotti said: "The younger players are ready but haven't played a lot of this season. However, they are important, now and for the future. But I'm not here to be the manager of the younger or the elder players. I'm the boss of Bayern Munich and I'm here to choose the best line up to help the team win."

Ancelotti confirmed that defenders Hummels, Jerome Boateng and David Alaba would all face fitness tests at training on Friday before the trip to Northern Germany.

All other players were available for Bayern, who can seal their fifth straight Bundesliga with a win at struggling Wolfsburg if nearest challengers RB Leipzig fail to beat lowly Ingolstadt.

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