Gareth Bale has backed one of his former managers to replace Michael Carrick at Manchester United, calling the experienced manager a “genius” who will do a “fantastic job”.
Gareth Bale has backed Manchester United manager Carlo Ancelotti. (Image: Sticking to Soccer/YouTube)
Former Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale has backed Carlo Ancelotti as a potential replacement for Manchester United’s Michael Carrick, describing the Italian as a “genius”.
Carrick briefly returned to United until the end of the season and has overseen his side’s victory in six of their eight games so far. Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat to Newcastle was the former midfielder’s first loss in charge.
This established him as a candidate to secure a permanent position in the summer. However, United reportedly have a number of managers available for the post and could evaluate alternative candidates.
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Among the names linked to this position is Carlo Ancelotti. The 66-year-old currently manages the Brazilian national team and is scheduled to coach them at this summer’s North American World Cup.
Ancelotti boasts a wealth of experience having managed some of the most prestigious clubs in world football. The manager worked with Bale between 2013 and 2015, when he was at Real Madrid, and the Wales international was full of praise for his former manager.
In Stick to Football he said: “He did well at Everton and I think he will do great.
“He’s not just a manager, he’s a coach and he can do tactical things. When his son was the head coach for the second time, he did more tactical things then, but I think we had a better team the first time.”
“Wherever Carlo goes, he’ll do a great job because he’ll get everyone on board. When you go to a big club and get good players, it doesn’t matter if they’re performing at the moment or not, like Man United, they’ve been on a roll in recent weeks but not before that. They’ve got good players and he’ll bring the best out of the good players.”
Carlos Ancelotti is said to be linked with the Manchester United job. (Image: Sergio Lima / AFP via Getty Images)
“He’s going to simplify things. With Michael Carrick now, he’s simplified a lot of things that the previous manager was doing and he’s getting results. So Carlo’s genius is to get the best out of players and simplify it.”
Whether Ancelotti is ready to accept that position is another matter entirely. In a speech last year, the Italian made his position on returning to club management clear.
“Real Madrid is the only team after Brazil that will accept a manager,” he said.
In addition to Real Madrid, Ancelotti also played for Everton, Napoli, Bayern Munich, PSG, Chelsea, Milan, Juventus and Parma.
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