I’m Carlo Ancelotti’s former right-hand man… he’s a fantastic football manager but even better at recommending box sets
CARLO ANCELOTTI and Paul Clement have seen plenty of drama together over the years — not including the TV shows they recommend each other.
And Clement is expecting his old Italian amico to serve up some more memorable viewing when his Real Madrid take on Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City this week.
Ex-PE teacher Clement became Ancelotti’s unlikely right-hand man when the Italian came to Chelsea in 2009.
The relationship endured throughout moves to Paris Saint-Germain, Real and Bayern Munich, before Clement forged his own path as a manager.
Ancelotti’s son Davide is now the assistant with the box seat next to his old man in the dugout — while Clement’s relationship these days is more about swapping box sets.
But few in football know how the mind of the four-time Champions League winner — and football’s Mr Cool — works better than the Englishman.
Clement, 52, told SunSport: “He switches off by going to different restaurants, he likes to eat nice food, he’s a family man.
“When I’ve gone to stay with him, we’ve put a game on, or a box set.
“He watches all sorts. I don’t think there’s anything he hasn’t watched. I go to him for recommendations!
“Although I recommended him one about an Italian doctor called Bad Surgeon, he said he was going to watch it.
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“That’s what he does to relax, movies, box sets. Our relationship is still strong. He’s always saying to come over. When I’m with him, it’s like we’re back together again all over again.”
Ancelotti stayed at the pinnacle of the managerial game longer than the likes of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.
Clement puts it down to his pal’s ability to move with the times, be a tactical trouble-shooter, stay calm and empathise with all players, including those with big egos.
The 52-year-old explained: “Jurgen Klopp, Pep and Carlo are the best three managers around at the moment.
“If Carlo’s tactics have not worked, he’s recognised it quickly and made the necessary adjustments, like when he changed the formation at Chelsea to get the best out of Frank Lampard.
“At Real Madrid, Carlo had an idea of Ronaldo as a striker so he didn’t have to track back. He had a discussion with Cristiano who said he preferred playing off the left.
“Carlo knew he had to make him comfortable, so brought in two systems for when we were attacking, 4-3-3 with Ronaldo on the left, and then 4-4-2 when defending, with Ronaldo up front.
“You see a lot of that now but it was quite revolutionary back then. He’s brilliant at managing people. Not just big-name players, but look at the owners he has had: Silvio Berlusconi at AC Milan, Roman Abramovich at Chelsea and Florentino Perez at Real Madrid. You could write a book just on that.”
Carlo Ancelotti's managerial career
Those numbers in full...
- Reggiana, 1995-96: P45 W17 D16 L12
- Parma, 1996-98: P87 W42 D27 L18
- Juventus, 1999-01: P114 W63 D33 L18
- AC Milan, 2001-09: P420 W238 D101 L81
- Chelsea, 2009-11: P109 W67 D20 L22
- PSG, 2011-13: P77 W49 D19 L9
- Real Madrid, 2013-15: P119 W89 D14 L16
- Bayern Munich, 2016-17: P60 W42 D9 L9
- Napoli, 2018-19: P73 W38 D19 L16
- Everton, 2019-21: P67 W31 D14 L22
- Real Madrid, 2021-24: P159 W113 D23 L23
- Trophies: Intertoto Cup (Juventus); Serie A, Italian Cup, Italian Super Cup, Champions League x2, Uefa Super Cup x2, Club World Cup (AC Milan); Premier League, FA Cup, Community Shield (Chelsea); Ligue 1 (PSG); La Liga, Spanish Cup x2, Spanish Super Cup x2, Champions League x2, Uefa Super Cup x2, Club World Cup x2 (Real Madrid); Bundesliga, German Super Cup x2 (Bayern Munich)
Ancelotti may have a laid-back exterior but he is no soft touch, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic at PSG found out.
Clement recalled: “There’s a line and you don’t cross it. In one game against Evian he was fuming at half-time and kicked a box and it hit Zlatan on the head! That was probably the most angry I’ve seen him.
“He has an absolute coolness about him. He looks laid-back, it doesn’t mean he’s not getting stressed inside.
“That’s one of his biggest skills, his ability to manage pressure and that’s given him his longevity. You can’t go half a game at Real Madrid without being criticised. It’s relentless.
“That feeds onto other people. When they won the Champions League two years ago and they were in dire situations against PSG, Chelsea and City, his outer calmness spread to the players and gave them belief.”
It will be a meeting of tactical masterminds at the Bernabeu on Tuesday in the Champions League quarter-final first leg as Guardiola’s Treble winners roll into town.
Steve Clement's managerial record
Those numbers in full...
- Derby County, 2015-16: P33 W14 D12 L7
- Swansea, 2017: P41 W14 D5 L22
- Reading, 2018: P30 W7 D8 L15
- Cercle Brugge, 2020-21: P25 W7 D1 L17
- Chelsea (assistant), 2009-11
- Blackburn (assistant), 2011-12
- PSG (assistant), 2012-13
- Bayern Munich (assistant), 2016-17
- Everton (assistant), 2022-23
Clement knew the Catalan was special even back then. But he got even more of an insight into his genius when Guardiola invited him up to City’s training ground after being axed by Swansea in 2017.
And Clement recalled: “We watched training and afterwards he said ‘Come on, let’s go into my office’. It was the week before the League Cup final.
“He went to get me a coffee and some biscuits. In his office he had a nice candle going, he had his golf clubs and golf was on the TV.
“He had the laptop out where he had been cutting and editing his own clips. We spoke about tactics, a lot about the different ways from playing from the back. It was amazing.
“You could see the intensity, passion, love and the addiction for football.
“We had one hour and then I said, ‘Pep please, I’ve got to go, you’ve got a League Cup final to prepare for!’
Clement’s last role was assisting Frank Lampard at Everton, but is keen to be the main man again.
He added: “I’d like to go abroad and I wouldn’t rule out an international job. I’d like to find something where I can bring together all my years of experience.”