Zlatan Praises Brazil’s Carlo Ancelotti’s Leadership: ‘Manager, Not A Coach’

Brazil is seeking to extend its record by winning a sixth World Cup title this summer. In charge of the five-time winners is legendary Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti, who is his first tournament leading a national team.

For FOX Sports’ Zlatan Ibrahimović, Ancelotti has the mindset and coaching style to handle the pressure of being Brazil’s coach. 

“He’s a fantastic human being. I had him as a manager, not a coach,” Ibrahimović said ahead of Brazil’s opening match against Morocco. “The difference between coach and manager is, the coach will tell the player how to move, where to go and how to play. Instead, a manager will manage the player.”

Ibrahimović played under Ancelotti with Paris Saint-Germain from 2012-13, where he accounted for 35 in 48 appearances under the Italian. In terms of the different meanings between a coach and a manager, Ibrahimović added a prime example that painted the picture perfectly. 

Zlatan Ibrahimović played under Carlo Ancelotti at PSG. (Photo by John Berry/Getty Images)

“I’ll give you an example: We had two right backs and to make them feel comfortable, I first asked (Ancelotti) ‘what do you do when you communicate with them?’ 

“He said, ‘First I go to the first one, and I tell him he’s my best right back,’” Ibrahimović said. “‘Then I go to the other one, and I tell him also he’s my best right back. And he would play them each week.’”

Ancelotti’s coaching résumé is filled with various accomplishments at clubs across Europe like AC Milan, Chelsea, PSG and Real Madrid. However, since taking the Brazil head coaching gig in 2025, he faces mounting pressure to win on soccer’s biggest stage. 

As soccer’s most decorated manager – amassing 35 major titles in his career – Ancelotti now has a chance to win the World Cup title that eluded him as a player for Italy, where he starred for the squad in 1990. 

Now that Ancelotti has a chance to add a World Cup win to his trophy cabinet, Ibrahimović endorses his coaching talent ahead of a high-stakes tournament for Brazil. 

“He has a different challenge this time because it is the first time he’s a coach for a national team and not a club team,” Ibrahimović added. “But he’s a manager for the big stage and he has done it before. I’m pretty sure he will do good.”