Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti reveals why he turned down Manchester United

[ASFN Admin]

Carlo Ancelotti takes on Manchester United in Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup quarter-final, having revealed for the first time that he could have replaced Sir Alex Ferguson when the Scotsman retired seven years ago. The Everton manager will be buoyed by 2,000 supporters at Goodison on Wednesday night – with his club one of just four top-flight teams enjoying such an advantage. But as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seeks his first piece of silverware as a manager, the Italian has explained how his friend Ferguson attempted to broker a deal before David Moyes eventually succeeded him in 2013. “I still keep a fantastic relationship with Sir Alex and we met when he decided to stop,” Ancelotti said. “But I was close to Real Madrid so I appreciated the fact that he talked to me and that’s it. I’ve had no other opportunity to manage them. “Of course, Manchester United is a fantastic club, a fantastic team and I battled against them a lot of times when Sir Alex was there, when I was at Chelsea. I have a lot of respect for this club. It’s a historic club in world football, like Milan, like Real Madrid.” With Ancelotti aiming to lead Everton to their first silverware since the 1995 FA Cup – the longest trophy drought in the club’s history – the impact of supporters on the tie could be significant on Wednesday night. Solskjaer has already bemoaned the fact that United were denied the return of fans to Old Trafford when Manchester remained in Tier 3 last week. In their two home games with 2,000 supporters in attendance, Everton have recorded narrow victories over Chelsea and Arsenal, each by a solitary goal. “It is really important, also for the fact we are not able to have noise for six months in every stadium, the fact that you can hear 2000 supporters to help you is really good,” Ancelotti said. “The players are more focused and more concentrated and are more motivated – the supporters have helped us a lot.”

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