John Obi Mikel played under a number of big-name managers during his time at Chelsea.
Indeed, Mikel played under a lot of different coaches at Stamford Bridge, some good, some bad.
Andre Villas-Boas wasn’t popular in Mikel’s eyes, while Luis Filipe Scolari had issues with Didier Drogba according to Mikel.
Speaking on The High Performance Podcast, the Nigerian has been discussing what it was like to work under Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea, and he says that Ancelotti was actually the best man manager he ever worked under, even moreso than Jose Mourinho.
Carlo Ancelotti was the best man manager at Chelsea
Mikel spoke about Ancelotti and his abilities as a coach.
The Chelsea legend says that Ancelotti was brilliant at bringing the team together, claiming that he was the best man manager of the bunch.
Sol Campbell recently named Ancelotti as the best manager ever too.
“And then, of course, Carlo came in. So already the place was already calm when Carlo came in. But through the season, there was a time where we had, you know, bad situations, you know, we’ve been all winning games, and that’s where those meetings happened,” Mikel said.
“And Carlo was the best at that. You know, he knows how to bring the team together. His man management was the best.
“You can talk to anybody that’s played on the Carlo Angelotti. I don’t think there’s one person that will have a bad word to say about the guy.”
Carlo Ancelotti’s record at Chelsea
Of all the managers Chelsea dumped during that era at Stamford Bridge, you can’t help but think that Ancelotti was the most hard done by.
The Italian did a stellar job at Chelsea, winning the league and the FA Cup in his first season at the club, before being sacked at the end of his second season after finishing as a runner-up in the Premier League.
| Carlo Ancelotti record at Chelsea | |
| Games | 109 |
| Wins | 67 |
| Draws | 20 |
| Losses | 22 |
| League titles | 1 |
| Worst league finish | 2nd |
Ancelotti had Chelsea in a great position, but Roman Abramovich wasn’t exactly known for his patience around this period.
These days, Chelsea would give anything to be back where they were under Ancelotti as questions begin to be asked about Enzo Maresca.
Maresca will likely be safe at Chelsea, but, if this was still the Abramovich era, Maresca would probably have been long gone by now.
