MX23RW : Friday, March 29 13:43:08| >> :120:69685:69685:

Marcelo Bielsa heaps praise on Carlo Ancelotti ahead of Everton clash

Leeds face Everton on Saturday.

Marcelo Bielsa has described Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti as a rare breed of manager who he respects and admires.

Bielsa, nominated this week for coach of the year at the Best FIFA Football Awards, goes head-to-head with the Italian at Goodison Park on Saturday.

"I have respect and admiration for Ancelotti," said the Leeds boss, whose side bid for their first win in four Premier League matches.

"First of all, because he has been wanted by all the best teams in the world. He has been chosen by some of the most powerful institutions in football, which shows how good he is."

Ancelotti, 61, in his first full season at Goodison, has had spells in charge of Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea, Paris St Germain, Real Madrid and Napoli during his 25-year managerial career.

"The second thing is he has triumphed everywhere he has been," Bielsa said. "The third thing is he is a manager well respected by the players as well as his other colleagues.

"The last thing is he's never been known to have been criticised for his way of playing.

Ancelotti replaced Marco Silva as Everton manager in December 2019
Ancelotti replaced Marco Silva as Everton manager in December 2019 (Clive Rose/PA)

"His way of playing is always an unselfish one and it is always valuable. To have all of this in one manager is not very frequent."

Ancelotti guided Everton to the top of the table last month before halting a run of three straight defeats with victory at Fulham last Sunday.

The Merseysiders currently sit sixth, while Leeds have slipped to 15th after winning only one of their last five league matches.

Leeds will still be without injured trio Pablo Hernandez, Diego Llorente and Jamie Shackleton, but Mateusz Klich is set to continue his remarkable run of appearances under Bielsa.

Klich has failed to start only one league game since the Argentinian arrived at Elland Road in 2018 and has played every minute in the Premier League this season.

"Klich, for me, is a player who can play in all the best teams in the world," said Bielsa, who revealed he had asked the Poland international if he would consider playing as a centre-half soon after he first arrived.

"But it so happened in the game before the season started, against Las Palmas, the candidates for the player to play in the number eight role started falling away.

"I'm referring to (Adam) Forshaw and Ronaldo Vieira. Their absences allowed Klich to play and show his ability and he's never been out of the team since.

"In all cases, all the praise should go to him and to (director of football) Victor Orta, who was the person who brought him here."

ID:423992: cacheID:423992:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7049:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Diego Maradona scores against England on June 22, 1986
Read Next:
Marcelo Bielsa pays tribute to "idol" Diego Maradona
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds38257670284282
2Leicester CityLeicester37264774334182
3Ipswich TownIpswich38249580493181
4Southampton36227773472673
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom381991059362366
6Norwich CityNorwich381871369541561
7Hull City371610115346758
8Coventry CityCoventry3715121059431657
9Preston North EndPreston37168134954-556
10Middlesbrough38166165352154
11Cardiff CityCardiff38165174351-853
12Sunderland38146184845348
13Watford381212145351248
14Bristol City38138174245-347
15Swansea CitySwansea381210164858-1046
16Millwall381110173650-1443
17Blackburn RoversBlackburn38119185164-1342
18Plymouth ArgylePlymouth381011175462-841
19Stoke CityStoke38118193553-1841
20Queens Park RangersQPR381010183650-1440
21Birmingham CityBirmingham38109194259-1739
22Huddersfield TownHuddersfield38815154261-1939
23Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds38115223061-3138
24Rotherham UnitedRotherham38311243077-4720


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!