Goalkeeper decision ‘never difficult’ for Ancelottipublished at 16:53 31 May
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (Sat, 20:00 BST)
Kristof Terreur
Belgian football journalist on Football Daily
On the decision to chose between Andriy Lunin and Thibaut Courtois for the No.1 spot in the Champions League final: “Well, for Carlo [Ancelotti] it was never difficult to be fair. Outside world thought it was difficult.
“Thibaut Courtois has been out injured for nine to 10 months [with a torn meniscus] and has [been] fit since the beginning of May. He has played four games in La Liga – one very good game, with the rest being business as usual.
“Then you have Andriy Lunin, who had a brilliant Champions League campaign in the knockout phase – one of the star players against Manchester City playing both semi-finals. Ancelotti had to pick between the two [for Saturday’s Champions League final]: choose his most experienced goalkeeper [in Courtois] or the guy that brought us here in Lunin.
“Suddenly, on the Monday, Lunin arrived at the club [training ground] with a fever. On Tuesday, he had fever again. On Wednesday, they said to him “fever is lower, but don’t come close because we fear you have that illness – and you might spread it around the club – meaning he has to fly on Saturday.
“We all know who is playing now.”
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