Capello Didn't Know How To Talk To Players

Fabio Capello was grumpy, hard to talk to and unwilling to discuss tactics with his players.

Carlo Ancelotti is not talking about the World Cup in South Africa.

In his new autobiography, the Chelsea manager admits he learned much from Capello when his fellow Italian took charge of AC Milan in 1991 for what turned out to be Ancelotti's last season as a player.

But the England stars gathering for Euro 2012 qualifiers may also recognize the character flaws Ancelotti spotted almost 20 years ago.

Ancelotti said: "Capello was a very serious manager. He demanded discipline and understood intuitively how to shape his team to disrupt his opponents' play.

"He was a master at reading a match, that was his strongest skill. From that point of view, I had to tip my hat to him. But as a human being - well, that's another matter. He was a grouch, he didn't know how to talk to players and, most importantly, he didn't like discussing technical matters with us.

"An exchange of views on strategy was alien to him and so it never happened.

"Maybe that's why there were so many verbal clashes with the players.

"Maybe that's why one day Ruud Gullit hung him up on the wall in the locker room. Once again I had to tip my hat. The Italian for hat is 'cappello' and Capello was dangling from a hat rack - it almost seemed predestined - with his shoes a few inches from the floor.

"Capello, reading the newspaper: 'Ruud, you said things here that weren't true. You're a liar.'

"Gullit, without reading the newspaper: 'Now I'm going to set you straight.' Brawl. I'm pretty sure that a lot of the players were rooting for Gullit, but we all pitched in and separated them.

"But to Capello's credit, after anything of the sort happened he just cancelled it from his memory. As if nothing had happened. He started over from nothing. He pretended not to remember, for the good of the team and for his own good."

There is clearly no love lost between Capello and Ancelotti and the Chelsea boss recalls that in 2006 he signed a pre-contract with Real Madrid, but AC Milan Vice-President Adriano Galliani refused to release him.

Only then, says Ancelotti, did Real move for Capello.

"I called up Real Madrid and told them about my conversation with Galliani," said Ancelotti.

I told them: 'Galliani told me that I can't accept your offer. But I thank you; it has been an honour to negotiate with you.' At home, I still have that pre-contract in a box with all my most important things. It's a souvenir of a nice, adrenaline-charged period. At that point, they focused their attention on Capello, who had already worked for them once.

"The Spanish press began pairing his name with mine in articles. The way they told it, it had turned into a battle between him and me, an all-Italian derby.

"In reality, I had signed a pre-contract but I had also already rejected their offer. At a certain point, Capello issued a statement: 'You think Real Madrid wants Ancelotti? Excuse me, but whom did they call first?' He thought he was the only candidate. Often my friends make jokes about that famous phrase. Whenever I invite them for dinner, they say: 'Sure, Carletto, we will be there. But whom did you invite first?'"

But Chelsea fans will not be laughing if Real president Florentino Perez one day gets his man. Ancelotti said: "There have been numerous contacts between Florentino Perez and me.

"He is a person I respect. He knows what he's doing and what he wants.

"He's a romantic, like me. We see eye-to-eye on many points. The last time we talked, he told me: 'Carlo, someday you will be my coach.'