Napoli Coach Carlo Ancelotti outlined his approach to man-management, the relationship with his players and handling the delicate matter of squad rotation.
The former Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich tactician gave a fascinating interview with Il Napolista. You can read the rest of the quotes here and here.
Napoli Coach Carlo Ancelotti outlined his approach to man-management, the relationship with his players and handling the delicate matter of squad rotation.
The former Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich tactician gave a fascinating interview with Il Napolista. You can read the rest of the quotes here and here.
“Nils Liedholm made me nervous, even when he was joking around, but that was above all due to my feeling of great respect for him.
“I don’t think I make any of my players nervous, but then times have changed. Back then, there was a clear social divide between parent and child, teacher and student, Coach and player. Now everything has become more blurred, the parties are closer together.
“I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing, but the roles are no longer so far apart. I believe it’s an improvement. The important thing is that the players understand my role.
“I can joke around with them, go out for dinner, but ultimately I decide if you play or don’t play. At times, I’ll be honest, that does affect your relationship.”
There are many schools of thought on how to handle players who are left on the bench and Ancelotti used some of his own experience to guide him.
“Whenever I didn’t play, I’d struggle to understand the reasoning. That is one of the reasons why I rarely give the players an explanation, unless of course they ask me.
“I announce the line-up the day of the game. If I’ve got time, then two days before the game, during the tactical sessions, I test out the line-up, but then rotate the players, so I always test two or three different situations.
“That way, the player isn’t entirely sure if he will start or not. However, if there’s a player who lets the doubt nag at him and affect his performance, I might tell him ahead of time.
“What I really don’t want is a player who is certain he won’t play, because that drags down the overall confidence of the group ahead of a game.”
When it comes to motivating his men, Ancelotti reveals some interesting techniques.
“I remember that at Real Madrid, before the Champions League Final, I got all the friends and family of the players to record a quick good luck message, so wives, children, parents. It was a really lovely compilation in the end with lots of children wishing their parents a great game.
“Before we travelled to the stadium, we had the session where I explained the tactics, then I showed them this video.”
When it comes to viewing movies, however, Ancelotti has one very special hero and it is here that joining a club with a Hollywood film producer for a patron comes in handy.
“I had it written into my contract that President Aurelio De Laurentiis must let me meet with Robert De Niro.”