Xabi Alonso heaps praise on former boss: “Ancelotti is a master”

Former Real Madrid midfielder Xavi Alonso has heaped praise on Carlo Ancelotti.

The two coincided during Ancelotti’s first stint at Los Blancos as well as in his Bayern days.

The current Leverkusen boss has also been tipped by many as the favorite to replace the Italian at Real Madrid.

His impressive start to the season at Leverkusen, as well as going as far as the semi-final stage of the UEFA Europa League last season has earned him a lot of attention.

In his words, the former Spanish international said: “In terms of human management, Carlo Ancelotti is a master. When you talk about how you want to convince the players or how to get the players to have a good relationship with you, Ancelotti is everyone’s master.”

Regarding his coaching qualities, the 41-year-old said: “I am not a fundamentalist who demands that we play in a certain way and that is the only way I let my team play. No, because you are not the most important person. The other boys are more important than you.”

“If they decide something wrong, we will try to improve it, but I try to pressure them to see that they have their own creativity on the field. I was encouraged to have my own creativity in the field, to make my own decisions. It’s not about being robots,” he added.

Alonso’s side Leverkusen are the second club in Europe’s top five leagues with the most chances created this season, only behind Bundesliga rivals Bayern.