Carlo Ancelotti has been blessed to work with some of the best Trequartistas in football, and the former AC Milan manager has drawn comparisons between Jude Bellingham and another of his former students.
The meteoric rise of Jude Bellingham has been a pleasure to watch, and although he has often been deployed as a central midfielder in his career, Ancelotti has potentially found the position which gets the most from the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder.
Since his move to Real Madrid, the Italian has opted to use the 20-year-old as a Trequartista, and he has reaped the rewards of this decision in bucket loads so far. This season, in La Liga and the Champions League, the Englishman has scored 20 times and assisted a further six goals.
With his dominance in this position, there have been comparisons drawn between another Los Blancos and Milan icon, Ricardo Kaka, whose best years came playing under Ancelotti, and it is no surprise why the links are being made.
They have nearly identical statures, footballing brains, and knacks for goals – traits that are difficult to find. Ultimately, though, the most prominent link is their tutor, and Ancelotti is already on track to further mentor Bellingham into one of the best in the world, much like he did with Kaka.
In a recent interview with Sky, Ancelotti spoke about the comparisons between the two players, and his words have been relayed by MilanNews.
“He has a bit of Kaka in him. There is not much difference in how they come to hurt their opponents. Since Kaka’s arrival, the game has changed, as have the characteristics of the players who play in that position. Whoever plays in the three-quarter now is a more powerful player than 20 years ago when players with more talent than power played in that position.”