I watched Carlo Ancelotti kick a BOX at Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s head… it’s the angriest I’ve ever seen him

CARLO ANCELOTTI is known for his cool exterior and impressive tactical catalogue, but it doesn’t mean he can’t show his frustration when he needs to.

The Real Madrid boss’ former right-hand man Paul Clement has recalled the time he remembers the Italian getting the angriest.

Ex-PE teacher Clement became Ancelotti’s unlikely second in command when the manager arrived to manage Chelsea in 2009.

And their relationship endured throughout moves to Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, before Clement forged his own path as a manager with Swansea in 2017.

Clement, 52, has seen it all with Ancelotti from lifting the Premier League with Chelsea to earning a spot in European history with Champions League success during his time in Madrid.

But it was the pair’s time in Paris where he remembers seeing Ancelotti lose his temper with his PSG side under-performing in the first half against Evian.

Clement explained how he saw Ancelotti kick a BOX at superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s head.

He told SunSport: “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.”

Clement went on to explain that Ancelotti’s ability to show his frustration when necessary but ultimately remain calm when he needs to is one of the reasons he has stayed at the top for so long.

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He added: “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.”

Ancelotti is used to working with the stars during his time at some of Europe’s biggest clubs and has even found his own way to keep them happy while ensuring they play in his preferred system.

Clement revealed how the Italian came up with a clever tactic to keep Cristiano Ronaldo happy at Real Madrid when he wanted the Portuguese star to play up front despite Ronaldo favouring a position on the wing.

He explained: “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.”

He has plenty of stars in his current Real Madrid side too and will have to try and get the best out of them as they take on Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals tonight.

Los Blancos welcome the treble winners to Spain as they look for revenge following their 5-1 trashing during the competition’s semi-finals last year.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk