Maurizio Sarri said both he and Pep Guardiola “learned from Arrigo Sacchi” and mentioned the dinner they had together in June.
Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s trip to Manchester City on Sunday, the former Napoli boss reaffirmed his close rapport with Guardiola.
“We have a good relationship. Very, very good,” Sarri said in today’s Press conference.
“Usually during the summer we have dinner together. I hope he speaks very well about me as a Coach, as a friend.
Maurizio Sarri said both he and Pep Guardiola “learned from Arrigo Sacchi” and mentioned the dinner they had together in June.
Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s trip to Manchester City on Sunday, the former Napoli boss reaffirmed his close rapport with Guardiola.
“We have a good relationship. Very, very good,” Sarri said in today’s Press conference.
“Usually during the summer we have dinner together. I hope he speaks very well about me as a Coach, as a friend.
“Usually we learn from Arrigo Sacchi, because Arrigo is always with us. So it’s very interesting to speak to Arrigo. Both Guardiola and me are all children of Sacchi, as it started with him.”
There is photographic evidence of the dinner, which took place in June at the Perla Verde Hotel in Milano Marittima.
Guardiola speaks excellent Italian thanks to his time as a player at Brescia and Roma.
“It’s no coincidence that so many players who worked under Sacchi and Cruijff are now Coaches, because their minds were opened. They gave us new love for the sport,” said Guardiola at the Festival dello Sport event.
Ancelotti also explained how he worked as a player with Sacchi’s Grande Milan of the 1980s.
“In technical terms, Sacchi was decisive, as I trained with him for five years and realised the importance of having a method to prepare sessions and try to transmit your ideas to the players. Before that, training sessions were largely 20 minutes of warm-up, half-an-hour of playing between ranks and 10 minutes of target practice.
“It was like a whole other world. When we were pressing and stealing the ball to go on the counter, then the defensive movements became active rather than totally passive, it was far more stimulating.”