Ancelotti a champion in all respects – Ribery

Franck Ribery has labelled Carlo Ancelotti as a “champion in all respects” and hailed the positive atmosphere the Italian has created at Bayern Munich.

Ancelotti replaced Pep Guardiola as head coach at the Allianz Arena in the close-season and led Bayern to DFL-Superup glory against Borussia Dortmund, before starting their DFB-Pokal and Bundesliga campaigns with 5-0 and 6-0 thrashings of Carl Zeiss Jena and Werder Bremen respectively.

France winger Ribery criticised Guardiola’s approach when speaking about the Manchester United boss in July, telling Bild: “He lacks experience. Sometimes he talks too much. Football is very simple.”

However, Ribery believes Ancelotti, who as a coach has won league titles in England, Spain, France and Italy as well as claiming three Champions League crowns, has created a strong bond between the coaching team and playing staff already.

“Carlo Ancelotti is a chilled, accessible guy. He loves his players, that’s what we realise,” he told Goal. “He is looking for contact, he laughs with us, he asks us how we are every day. This relationship is important.

“Don’t get me wrong, we are not kids anymore, we are experienced and we respect the coach. But you need this special relationship with the coach.

“It’s important you can have fun together. If you spend so much time with each other you can’t talk all the time only about football.

“Ancelotti is positive all the time. I’ve never heard a player who criticised him. To have a good team and good players is the one thing. To have a good close relationship is the other thing.

“Ancelotti is a champion in all respects. Otherwise it would be impossible to create such a harmonious atmosphere. That’s how you are successful together.”

Ribery endured an injury-hit 2015-16 campaign and in his absence his compatriot Kingsley Coman has become influential for club and country.

And Ribery praised the 20-year-old’s impact at Bayern thus far, adding: “For Kingsley it’s good I play for Bayern as well. He is a good guy, who made a great job until now.”

With the 33-year-old acting as a role model for Coman, Ribery reflected that his idol growing up was former AC Milan and Bayern star Jean-Pierre Papin.

“When I was young I liked Jean-Pierre Papin,” he said.” “He was a special guy, who scored great goals in his career.”