Friday 5 July 2013 15:20, UK
Dani Carvajal hopes his return to Real Madrid will encourage the club's other young academy players to fight hard in order to make the step up to the first team.
Carvajal, who will compete with Alvaro Arbeloa for a place in the Madrid starting line-up next season, took time to defend the former Liverpool full-back from criticism following his performance for Spain in their 3-0 defeat to Brazil in the Confederations Cup final. "I have learned a lot from Alvaro. He is a reference point. He has won two European Championships and a World Cup and he is close to the academy players, which is very important," Carvajal said. "He is a great player who always gives his all in every game, regardless of the criticism he receives. We'll both try to do our best to make it very hard for the coach to choose who plays." The defender added that he was looking forward to working under the new Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti. "He is a great coach," he said. "Just look at what he has achieved over the years and how many trophies he has won. He treats his players well, forms great groups of players and I'm sure we're going to have a great season."
