EVERTON MANAGER CARLO Ancelotti lauded Irish defender Seamus Coleman after his side made it three wins from three in the Premier League yesterday.
Coleman, wearing the captain’s armband, set up the opening goal for Dominic Calvert-Lewin in a 2-1 victory for the visitors over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
It has been a promising start to the new campaign for Ancelotti, whose managerial CV includes Champions League, Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 titles from his time in charge of Real Madrid, AC Milan, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.
Nevertheless, the 61-year-old Italian rates Coleman as one of the best captains he has worked with, likening the Donegal man’s leadership calibre to that of Sergio Ramos, John Terry and the legendary Paolo Maldini.
As a Milan team-mate of Maldini’s, Ancelotti won two Serie A titles and two European Cups during his playing career. He then managed a Rossoneri side captained by Maldini to a Scudetto and two Champions Leagues during an eight-year spell in charge at the San Siro.
“Seamus is doing really well,” Ancelotti said in the wake of the win over Palace. “He is an example for all the others of how you need to be – the attitude, the spirit – every day.
“I’ve had a lot of captains in my career but how Seamus expresses his love for the shirt is really top. He is a great captain, honestly. I don’t want to forget anyone [I have worked with] but he is up there as a captain with [Paolo] Maldini, John Terry and Sergio Ramos.”
Coleman, who made his 250th Premier League start in last weekend’s win over West Bromwich Albion, joined Everton from Sligo Rovers in January 2009.
The 31-year-old full-back will be hoping that his form at club level can earn him a recall to Ireland’s starting line-up for the upcoming European Championship play-off against Slovakia, after he was omitted by Stephen Kenny for the recent Nations League games against Bulgaria and Finland.
