Andrea Pirlo believes working with Antonio Conte was important to learn a winning mentality, while coaching Cristiano Ronaldo was an ‘easy’ and ‘good’ experience. The former Milan and Juventus midfielder is currently coaching Turkish side Fatih Karagümrük and speaking to the Daily Mail, he admits returning to the Ataturk Stadium, where Pirlo’s AC Milan side lose the 2005 Champions League final, was a tough experience:
“Did it make me shudder? Yeah a little bit,’ Pirlo smirks. ‘Because it was the first time that I came back. I had recollections of the final.
“Conte? I learned so many things,’ he says. ‘Sometimes I talk with him and, for me, it was very important to understand his mentality because he has been one of the best coaches in my career.
‘The winning mentality is the key. The concentration. He always puts you on a good direction to work and to play.
“Ancelotti? He’s very calm, he has a good relationship with all the players and he always has one word for everything,’ Pirlo says. ‘It’s important because if you stay in a big team, you have to understand when you have to talk and when not to.
“Cristiano Ronaldo? For me it was easy to work with him, he was a good guy, very professional. He wanted to play every game, to score every game. We didn’t have a problem but football changes very quickly. Age also.
“Fatih Karagumruk? When I came here, I had one opinion for my football. But when you are here, you have to understand you can’t do the same thing, It’s hard to change your opinion, but you have to. Otherwise you have a problem.
“You don’t need to be a snobby person, a big-headed person. The old players need to understand: you are a coach, not an ex-player.
‘The manager needs to know what he can ask of his group of players because every group of players has a different style and you need to adapt. You need to ask of them things they can do. This is important.
“England? I think now they have more quality, maybe 10 years ago, it was different — very good players but not with the same quality.
“Kalvin Phillips? He’s a very good player but he doesn’t have my quality, he plays very well in the same position. But we don’t have the same skills.’
“The EURO’s final? Mentally, it’s different — we are Italian and you are English, It was difficult for us to play the European final at Wembley but the moment was perfect.
‘”ortunately, as a player I achieved a lot. I achieved what I wanted, as a manager, I want to achieve a little bit of what I achieved as a player.”
