Ex-Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti says Zinedine Zidane changed his outlook on football and how he adapted his tactics in the early days of his managerial career.
The Italian was Zidane’s boss at Juventus in the 1990’s and while they didn’t lift any silverware together, Ancelotti admits it was having Zidane in his squad that made him abandon a strict 4-4-2 formation to having a creative player tuck in behind a front two.
He used the blueprint he developed at Juve to great success at AC Milan where another ex-Real player, Kaka, was used in the same role as Zidane. At the San Siro, Ancelotti lead his team to much success including the Seria A title and Champions League.
Speaking to Goal.com, Ancelotti, who worked alongside Zidane in his first season in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu, said: “The first time that I met Zinedine Zidane was in the first year in Juventus and I found a fantastic player.
“Zidane was the key for me to change my idea of football because I was always used to playing 4-4-2. At Juventus I changed my system, to play a player like him behind two strikers because I didn’t want to change the position. He was really fantastic.”
