With Everton taking on Tottenham in the FA Cup this evening, the attention has firmly been on comparisons between their respective managers.
Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho are two of the most successful managers in the game and, having both managed Real Madrid at points in their careers; the comparisons are easy to make.
Marca, though, have taken a different stance today and rather than comparing their career, they look at their success with their big summer signings, James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale.
Both players moved from Real Madrid in high-profile moves this summer, with Everton and Tottenham hoping to revive their fortunes and reap the benefits.
That has certainly happened for the Toffees, with Rodriguez proving to be a star man so far and arguably one of the signings of the season.
Bale, though, has barely featured for Tottenham so far this season, with injuries and a lack of form meaning he’s failed to have the impact many were hoping for.
Marca look at the situation today, stating: ‘Ancelotti did with James what Mourinho could not with Bale’.
They explain that Ancelotti was able to put James ‘into the limelight’ at Everton, but Mourinho continues to ‘pluck the daisy’ to find a way to get the best from Bale, who has swapped the subs bench at Madrid for the one at Tottenham.
Marca believe that Mourinho could not find the same ‘affinity’ with Bale that Ancelotti has with James, who he has managed and gotten the best from at Madrid and Bayern Munich in the past.
Indeed, the lack of a relationship between Bale and Mourinho is ‘on the way to failure’ with it stated Tottenham have already made it clear they will not make the move permanent.
In this comparison, Rodriguez and Ancelotti come out on top of Bale and Mourinho, the latter having failed to learn from the Italian master to get the best out of his own Madrid outcast.
