Franck Ribery decided to stay at Salernitana after retirement to join first Davide Nicola and then Paulo Sousa’s staff, but it’s Carlo Ancelotti who set the mould for the coach he wants to be.
The 39-year-old spent most of his playing career at Bayern Munich and came to Italy for Fiorentina in 2019, then moving to Salernitana as a free agent in 2021.
He had started this season, but then decided to hang up his boots in October 2022 when it became clear his body was no longer able to sustain the pace of training and playing.
The Frenchman remained in Salerno as part of Nicola’s staff, then carried on when Sousa took charge.
“My objective is to become a coach,” Ribery told Sport Bild.
“In my 12 years at Bayern Munich, the best relationships I had with coaches were with Otmar Hitzfeld, Jupp Heynckes and Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian is truly an exceptional man.
“I gave my best for them because my mind was free of negative thoughts and I enjoyed myself on the pitch, just as if I was a kid.”
Ribery played 40 games under Ancelotti, in which he scored six goals and provided a whopping 18 assists for his teammates, from 2016 to 2018.
Heynckes is easily the coach he worked with the most, as the 121 matches saw Ribery score 35 times and provide 58 assists.