Carlo Ancelotti believes Zinedine Zidane’s success as Real Madrid boss is due to his relationship with the players, an area in which Rafael Benitez struggled.
Zidane was the Italian’s number two whilst at the Bernabeu between 2013 and 2015, while the former Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea and PSG coach was succeeded by Benitez, who lasted only six months in the job before being sacked.
"No, not everybody can manage Real Madrid,” Ancelotti explained in an interview with ESPN.
“The key to success I think is the relationship with the players. The knowledge of football is secondary, as is the experience."
"I mean, sure, Zidane had not managed in the top-flight, but he played for a long time, he had worked as an assistant, he had managed Castilla, he knows the game, he knows the tactical aspects, he knows the club."
"The key question I think was the relationship with the players, as I said, and the ability to work with them on the training pitch. I mean structuring a training session in such a way that you get your message across and the players are happy and receptive."
"There's a teaching/coaching element there that not everybody who knows or understands football has. If none of my coaching staff showed up to training tomorrow and I simply told the players go ahead and structure a week's worth of training sessions, they couldn't do it. Or, at least, they couldn't do it well."
"As for the relationships, you need charisma, you need respect, you need personality. Zidane has all that and he proved it as a player, as a leader but also in the time he spent as my assistant."