Terry can match Lampard's success as a manager, says Ancelotti

Carlo Ancelotti has reflected on his time at Chelsea and praised two of his former star players who have followed him into coaching.

Published : May 23, 2020 08:32 IST

Aston Villa assistant John Terry
Aston Villa assistant John Terry
lightbox-info

Aston Villa assistant John Terry

Former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti believes John Terry will impress as a manager in the same way Frank Lampard has done at Stamford Bridge.

Lampard, who like Terry played under Ancelotti when he was in charge of the Blues between 2009 and 2011, has won praise for his stewardship of a young Chelsea squad this season.

Fellow club legend Terry, presently assistant manager Aston Villa, has also been backed to deliver in a top job by the Italian.

Asked about the success of Lampard, Ancelotti told Sky Sports: "I'm not surprised because as a player, Frank had fantastic tactical qualities.

READ|

"Of course, Frank is doing really well at Chelsea. I'm waiting now for Terry as a manager.

"Now he is an assistant, but I think they both have the qualities to be a good manager."

Ancelotti feels it is easy to forget the quality of the team he had at Chelsea, with his side earning the club's maiden Premier League and FA Cup double in his first year at the helm.

"The second year was more difficult, but the first year was really fantastic," said Ancelotti, now in charge of Everton.

"The club had the goal for the Champions League, but the fact that in the first year we won the Premier League and the FA Cup was really important and really exciting.

"The second year we had some problems. We had [Didier] Drogba with malaria and these kinds of problems. We started really well and we finished really well but the middle of the season was not so good.

"Drogba was fantastic. In the first year, he scored 36 goals but to mention Drogba means to forget [Nicolas] Anelka, for example.

READ|

"[We had Florent] Malouda, Joe Cole, [Salomon] Kalou, Michael Ballack in the middle, [Michael] Essien, Deco and at the back, Alex, [Branislav] Ivanovic, Ashley Cole.

"So the team really, really was a fantastic team. When I arrived, the team was there, I didn't build the team, so I was really excited to train these kinds of players with this kind of power. 

"Imagine when you needed to prepare set-pieces, you had John Terry, Alex, Drogba, Ballack to jump so it was not so difficult to score on set-pieces."

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment