Ancelotti: 'It didn't end well with Napoli, I'm relieved in the Premier League'
- Apollo Heyes
"Do I, Vialli, Zola, Ranieri seem relieved in England? Well, they're right! If you're used to Italian football, find another world. I'm not talking about the intensity of the game, that's not what makes the difference. It's a different environment here. In England you're not offended, for example. The insults are annoying. In some Italian stadiums you get the impression that people hate you, maybe because you changed teams. A guy sits behind the bench and throws insults at you for 90 minutes. Here, it's unthinkable.”
The 60-year-old Italian coach then spoke about the rivalry with Premier League leaders Liverpool.
"Sports rivalry at the centre. Like in Milan between Milan and Inter. No hate. No real geographical, social, political or religious differences between the fans.”
The former AC Milan and Napoli coach touched on his relationship with Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp.
“Great, we already knew each other. Same with Mourinho. We send each other messages.”
Ancelotti discussed how it feels to work with his son, Davide, at Everton.
“Nice working with a 30-year-old. Davide is a coach with a UEFA A licence. In Italy, he wouldn't have the minimum age, who knows why. The relationship between us is professional, but certainly my son tells me things that no one else tells me, even about the bad things I do...”
The Italian coach spoke about his decision to join Napoli and his time there, as well as his dismissal.
“I went to Napoli because, after nine years abroad, I wanted to come back to Italy and Naples seemed to me an interesting place... Let's say it didn't end well, but it was a good experience. Living in Naples is one of the most beautiful things that can happen. Then a little bit because of the results, a little bit because of other difficulties, the relationship ended. I was dismissed on December 12th, Everton sent the coach away at the beginning of December, things combined. Coincidences. De Laurentiis said "I've thought about changing", I said "Are you sure?", he said "Yes", then I said "Ok, then I'll look for another team". I didn't feel like sitting still and getting paid without working. Coaching in England is fascinating, and Everton's owners are ambitious.”
Ancelotti spoke about the dismissal in a little more detail.
“How does a coach figure out that he’ll be dismissed? Smell it, smell it... In football, secrets don't exist. You know everything about everybody. In Naples you could smell it... what do you have to do? You have to take note.”
The former Paris Saint Germain and Real Madrid coach touched on the criticisms he’s received, especially at the end of his Napoli career.
“What bothered me? It bothers me that, when things don't go well, they say ‘Ah, you have to use the whip, you're too good, you're too kind and accommodating with the players!’. But I say, managers in the world don't know how I train? You can't just take me and then tell me to change my way of coaching, my way of being. Because that's how I am, that's how the successes came. If you say, ‘You gotta use the whip!’, it's wrong, it's wrong."
Finally, Ancelotti discussed similar criticism he’s received earlier in his career.
"It only happened with Napoli? No no, it also happened at Chelsea, it happened at PSG... I won a lot, I know, but the hard times were everywhere. Even at Milan there were some very difficult times. But they were overcame. Here, maybe Milan was the only place where they didn't tell me ‘Use the whip’. Because they knew me.”
Everton, under the guidance of Ancelotti, are currently 7th in the league after 26 games. The English club have recovered from their poor first half of the season thanks to the work of the Italian coach.
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