Gareth Bale backs ‘genius manager’ to replace Michael Carrick at Man Utd | Football

Gareth Bale has recommended ‘genius manager’ Carlo Ancelotti to Manchester United as they prepare to appoint Ruben Amorim’s permanent replacement.

United sacked Amorim in early January after a disappointing 14-month tenure at Old Trafford.

Michael Carrick was soon appointed as United’s caretaker manager until the end of the season and has enjoyed a fantastic start to his reign, going his first seven games unbeaten.

Carrick’s return to his former club was only expected to be temporary but United’s impressive form has led to calls for him to get the job on a permanent basis.

England boss Thomas Tuchel was one of the frontunners to take over when Amorim was sacked but the ex-Chelsea boss has since signed a contract extension with the Three Lions.

Another manager preparing for this summer’s World Cup, Ancelotti, has also been linked with the Red Devils and Bale believes his former Real Madrid boss would do ‘great’ at Old Trafford.

Ancelotti, 66, is regarded as one of the best managers in history, having won a record five Champions Leagues and league titles in Spain, England, Italy, France and Germany.

‘I think he would do great,’ Bale said on The Overlap when asked about Ancelotti’s credentials as a Manchester United manager. ‘He’s not just the manager, he is a coach as well.

‘[But] he can do the tactical stuff. When he was the head coach in his second spell [at Real Madrid], he did a lot more tactically then than we did the first time, but I think we had a better team the first time.

‘Wherever Carlo goes, I think he would do an amazing job, just because he gets everyone on board.

‘If you go into a big club, you’ve got good players, whether they’re performing at the time or not.

‘Like Man United, they have been the last few weeks, but, prior to that, they hadn’t been performing, but they’ve got good players.

‘He’ll get the best out of players and will just simplify things, which you see now with Michael Carrick. 

‘He’s simplifying a lot of things that the previous manager was doing, and you’re getting results. So that’s Carlo’s genius, getting the best out of the players and just making it simple.’

Bale is not the first footballer-turned-pundit to recommend Ancelotti for the Manchester United job, with Paul Scholes recently claiming he would be ‘perfect’ for the role.

‘Michael [Carrick] is doing great, it’s unbelievable the change,’ Scholes said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.

‘If you put yourself in the owner’s shoes or whoever is making the decision, he’s putting real pressure on them to get the job.

‘The people making that decision might have to think about it a little bit differently because I don’t think you need the most technical or talented coach.

‘You’re at a big club with good players who know what they’re doing, maybe they need a man-manager more than anything.

‘If you look back to Sir Alex [Ferguson] he was never a coach really but he knew the players, he knew what the players needed and how to treat players to get the best out of them.

‘If you look at Real Madrid with Carlo Ancelotti, Zinedine Zidane, I don’t think they’re the most technical or tactical coaches but they’re good man-managers.

‘Ruben Amorim seemed obsessed with tactics and it didn’t work, Xabi Alonso seemed the same at Real Madrid. Do those type of big clubs need those coaches or a more man-manager?

‘I don’t know what Michael’s coaching style is like but I can imagine as a man-manager he’s very good because he’s brilliant with people and players.

‘The question over Michael is does he have the experience? I know he’s managed in the Championship but this is obviously different.

‘Can we see Carrick winning United the Premier League? Look, we don’t know yet.

‘Now the perfect one out there… Ancelotti is still out there, I know he’s with Brazil, but he’s that perfect one for Manchester United where you think he would make players feel a million dollars and he’s got the experience of winning trophies.

‘The only question would be is he too old? That’s the only thing, is there anyone else of that ilk with a bit more experience?

‘The way you judge a Manchester United manager is to look ahead and think, “can United win the league with this manager?” It’s not a case of finishing in the top-four, you need a manager who you think can win you the Premier League.

‘The great thing someone like Ancelotti has is experience – I know that sounds obvious – but we don’t know yet how Michael Carrick will deal with going through a bit of adversity.’

Carrick lost his first game in charge of Manchester United on Wednesday night, with the Red Devils suffering a 2-1 defeat to ten-man Newcastle United.

They remain in the Champions League places despite the setback, however, and return to Premier League action on March 15 against top-four rivals Aston Villa.

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