AC Milan advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic has named Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, and Fabio Capello as the four managers who fundamentally “changed football,” while also revealing the two legendary coaches he wishes he had played for.
Zlatan: Guardiola, Mourinho, Ancelotti and Capello Are the Four Who “Changed Football”
Speaking at the European Club Association General Assembly in Rome, Ibrahimovic reflected on a career that brought him into contact with many top coaches.
Despite working with managers like Massimiliano Allegri and Roberto Mancini, he singled out four figures who had a transformative impact on the sport.
“I had Capello, Mourinho, Guardiola, Ancelotti: these four are football and they changed it,” Ibrahimovic stated.
This acknowledgment is particularly notable regarding Guardiola, with whom Ibrahimovic had a famously strained relationship during his season at Barcelona.
The Swedish football legend also admitted that there were two world-class tacticians he always wanted to play under but never had the chance.
“The coaches I would have liked to have? Ferguson and Klopp,” he said.
Ibrahimovic also used the platform to make a prediction for the 2026 World Cup, passionately backing his former Paris Saint-Germain manager, Carlo Ancelotti, to lead Brazil to glory.
“I hope Brazil wins, for my friend Ancelotti. I’m cheering for them. Everything he touches turns to gold. Let’s see if he can do it with Brazil too,” he said.
He expressed his belief that Ancelotti’s “magical touch” could end Brazil’s 24-year wait for a World Cup title.
Since retiring and taking on an advisory role at AC Milan in December 2023, Ibrahimovic has been increasingly active in football’s executive circles, representing the club at high-level meetings like the ECA assembly.
