'The smartest': Joe Cole says he had a manager at Chelsea who was smarter than Jose Mourinho

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Joe Cole worked with some remarkable managers throughout his career.

The midfielder was lucky enough to work under some all-time greats, from Claudio Ranieri to Fabio Capello.

Of course, Cole famously also worked under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea.

Mourinho is a legend of a manager, and Cole tasted a lot of success under the Portuguese gaffer, winning two Premier League titles.

However, speaking on Tales, Tears and Trophies, the England international has claimed that he had a manager at Chelsea who was even smarter than Mourinho.

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Carlo Ancelotti was smarter than Jose Mourinho

Cole has always been a fan of Mourinho, but he admitted that Carlo Ancelotti was the smartest manager he worked with at Chelsea.

Cole says Ancelotti was smart enough to recognise that only a few changes were needed at Chelsea, and, ultimately, that led to the Italian winning a league title.

"The smart managers, and I’m talking Carlo Ancelotti was the smartest manager. He walked into the dressing room. We hadn’t won the league for three years," Cole said.

"Remember, you guys (Manchester United) went bang, bang, bang three years in a row. We’re thinking, mate, we had managers try to change us from what we was. Carlo come in,

"He went, what did you do before? What was Jose doing? Like, this is the training methodology.

"The lads like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right, well, so we'll do that then.

"And he only changed two or three things. Then that year was the year we won the league back. My last year, actually."

Carlo Ancelotti compared to Jose Mourinho

Ancelotti and Mourinho are two incredible managers, and, in terms of legacy, both managers are very comparable.

Ancelotti has been a legendary figure for a long time, but since his return to Real Madrid from Everton, his reputation has only been enhanced further.

Both men have achieved incredible things in the game, revolutionising the sport in their own way, and it’s hard to separate the pair.

Of course, you can also compare both manager's records at Chelsea, and that also makes for interesting reading.

Mourinho has the greater Chelsea legacy, but Ancelotti's win percentage isn't far off Mourinho's at Stamford Bridge.

Regardless of who you think is better, Ancelotti and Mourinho are undoubtedly two of the greatest managers in history.