Carlo hails Chelsea stars

22 September 2009 09:13
// A bit of a hack but it works// The article snippet is wrapped onto a second line, even when #article-sub is emptyif( $("div#article-sub").children().length == 0 ) {$("div#article-sub").remove();} Carlo Ancelotti believes Frank Lampard is among football's elite performers, while being of the opinion Ashley Cole is the best left-back in the world.[LNB] The Chelsea chief has enjoyed an imperious start to his Stamford Bridge tenure having recorded six victories from as many Premier League games.[LNB]When speaking of his players in a wide-ranging interview this week Ancelotti has paid special tribute to Lampard, a player who he believes can comfortably be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Kaka, Franck Ribery and even Diego Maradona.[LNB]"He's versatile," Ancelotti said in the Daily Telegraph.[LNB]"He has a different quality to Kaka, Ribery or Maradona but has the same importance for the team.[LNB]"He is fantastic when he arrives in the box at the right time, scoring a lot of goals."[LNB]A feature of Ancelotti's Chelsea has been the buccaneering performances of attacking full-backs Jose Bosingwa and Ashley Cole.[LNB]It is the latter that has been singled out for special praise though, with Ancelotti reasoning there is no better left-back in world football.[LNB]Full-backs key"With the diamond we play, the full-backs are very important to run forward," he added.[LNB]"Cole and Bosingwa are doing a fantastic job. Cole is the best left-back in the world.[LNB]"(Patrice) Evra is a very good runner but he has a little bit of difficulty to defend."[LNB]Key to the Italian's success is the instantaneous respect he has been granted from his charges and it would appear the admiration is two-fold.[LNB]"I found a lot of respect for me. But when I first came here there was too much distance between me and the players.[LNB]"They considered me only a boss and I did not have the language to break through that.[LNB]"Only one time have they upset me, in a friendly against Reading. We were losing 2-0 at half-time and I wanted to be angry, but I didn't have the words to convey the emotion.[LNB]"Ray (Wilkins) said I should use Italian and then they can see by the look on my face that I am upset.[LNB]"When I am angry I have to speak in Italian."[LNB]

Source: SKY_Sports