Bayern Munich full-back Rafinha has made known the differences between current boss Carlo Ancelotti and his predecessor Pep Guardiola.
The Bavarian club won the Bundesliga title for the fifth consecutive time this season, but did not go further than the quarter-finals stage in the Champions League losing to Real Madrid.
Rafinha revealed that Ancelotti’s more passive nature is the major attribute that sets the Italian coach and Guardiola.
“Guardiola is a younger trainer,” he told Sport TV. “Bayern was the second club in his career. He would change tactics at night, call the player at night, say ‘let’s do this tomorrow’.
“In the tactical aspect, he is completely crazy. He studies football 24 hours a day. He has his way of dealing with people, with players.
“Ancelotti is more experienced, more passive. He is managing our group very well. Not so fascinated by tactics. We did a lot of repetition with Pep in training. It was a very automatic thing, we knew what to do. With Ancelotti, it’s quieter, but with the same intensity. He’s a calmer, more familiar trainer.”
Speaking on Guardiola’s diligence, Rafinha stated: “It was a lot of information. But it was good too, because you went on the field knowing even the underwear that the opponent was going to wear.
“The team is now looser. With Pep, we had more than 1,000 passes per game, it was an absurd requirement. Ancelotti is a much quieter guy. The players are more comfortable, even by style, because he is older.”
Rafinha has signed an extension to his contract at Bayern, and has expressed his desire to appear regularly after the retirement of Philipp Lahm.
“I had an offer from England, but I renewed with Bayern for another year,” he said. “Ancelotti said that he will count on me, that I will play more often.
”I hear a lot of people say, ‘you’re playing little’. Lahm plays two, and I play one. Playing 30 matches a season, that’s great. Now, with him retiring, I must play more, I must have much more space.”