Carlo Ancelotti: "I could never coach Atlético Madrid..."
The Italian was interviewed by Canal+ France and had kind words to say about Zinedine Zidane and Karim Benzema...
Act of betrayal
Carlo Ancelotti is one of Europe's most well travelled coaches but he admitted today there are a handful of clubs he could never work at... " I could never coach Atlético Madrid", the Italian told Canal+ France, justifying his stance as a question of allegiance. "In the future, norr could I coach Olympique Marseille or Inter Milan after all I achieved at PSG and AC Milan. I have a great respect for them but I could never betray my old fans, and the same applies in Spain - I could never accept the Atlético job after coaching Real Madrid", he explained.
Zidane and Benzema
Ancelotti suffered mixed fortunes as Real Madrid coach in the local derbies with Atlético and this weekend, it will be the turn of his former assistant Zidane to pit his his wits against Simeone. "Zidane is my friend. He was one of my players, my assistant... He's doing really well at Madrid and I am happy for him because he deserves it", said Ancelotti, who also had a word for striker Karim Benzema: "Karim deserves to be playing for France's national team. France didn't win the Euros but I think it might have been different for them if Karim has been playing".