• Premier League

Ancelotti lauds Mancini tactics

ESPNsoccernet staff
March 19, 2011
Carlo Ancelotti has admitted he has struggled to cope with Roberto Mancini's tactics in the past © Getty Images
Enlarge

Carlo Ancelotti has praised his compatriot Roberto Mancini ahead of Chelsea's crucial Premier League clash with Manchester City on Sunday.

Ancelotti believes the game could prove decisive in each side's season and admits that he finds Mancini a difficult manager to overcome.

"He's a very intelligent coach who prepares a tactical game very well,'' Ancelotti said. "That's the reason I have difficulty against him. I hope to change that on Sunday.''

Ancelotti and Mancini have a friendship dating back to their playing careers. "We were team-mates in the national team - he's a friend,'' Ancelotti said. "Not such a friend because he's won too many times against me.

"He has to understand that he is my friend, so sometimes he can give his friend something.''

Mancini also proved his fellow Italian's nemesis towards the end of the pair's time in charge of AC Milan and Inter Milan, respectively, and has now won six of the last seven head-to-head clashes between them.

With Chelsea and City boasting the biggest-spending owners in English football, Ancelotti and Mancini are arguably the most under-pressure managers in the country.

"This is normal, managing that pressure, for the coach," said Ancelotti. "It's one of the skills a coach must have in football.

"The second thing is to be patient, not just with the players but with the club and the journalists. It's a good skill to have, patience, a very good skill.''

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices