Carlo Ancelotti walked into the press room at Anoeta. A frown on his face, an unusually fierce look in his eyes, the Italian sat down behind the microphone, scratched his head and took one deep breath. And then one more.
This was the time to be strong, assertive, but, even if he didn't feel it, in control too. "I'm really sorry because I don't like the team playing like that," said Ancelotti. "We didn't have a good defensive system to keep hold of our two-goal advantage."
The two-goal advantage he spoke of had been built inside only 11 minutes that night at Anoeta.