Former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has paid tribute to current Stamford Bridge boss Antonio Conte, while also admitting he is slightly envious of Arsene Wenger's longevity at Arsenal and tipping Paul Clement to succeed in management.
In an exclusive interview, Bayern Munich manager Ancelotti told ESPN FC's Gab Marcotti that Conte "is doing a fantastic job" with a team that disappointed in 2015-16.
"They'd had a bad season," Ancelotti said. "The players are motivated. The manager put a new idea of football and good chemistry and they were able to have a really good result. [They have] a lot of possibility to win the Premier League this year."
Ancelotti added that Chelsea, where he was manager from 2009-11, are benefiting from not playing in European competition this season and suggests a similar trend is evident in the Bundesliga.
"This is really important," Ancelotti said. "I think it's not a coincidence; the fact that the first teams in the Premier League now -- Liverpool and Chelsea -- didn't have international games in this first part of the season is really important.
"It's the same in Germany. Leipzig, Hoffenheim, Hertha Berlin; teams that don't have international games are better prepared in this period. When you have one week to prepare a game, it's really better."
Ancelotti was Conte's manager at Juventus from 1999-2001 and saw in the player the qualities needed to coach at the highest level.
"I think that Conte had this kind of quality, also for his style of play. He was a really tactical player," Ancelotti said. "He was intelligent on the pitch, really focused."
Bayern are currently at a training camp in Qatar ahead of the second half of the German season. Next month, they face Arsenal in the Champions League Round of 16, meaning Ancelotti will match managerial wits once again with Arsene Wenger.
The Gunners boss recently celebrated 20 years in charge at the club, a feat that Ancelotti called "almost impossible."
"I would like to stay in a club more than two years, three years, because I think the time together builds a strong relationship," Ancelotti said. "I think the relationship between people is the key of success of the team. So, when you have time to build your style, your philosophy, I think it is better.
"The top clubs, it's more difficult to stay at this level. Wenger had this luck, and he did really well at Arsenal all these years."
Last week, Ancelotti saw his assistant Paul Clement leave Bayern to take over as manager at Swansea. While he was sorry to see the Englishman leave, he understood Clement's wish to pursue the opportunity and backed him to succeed.
"Of course, at a certain point, an assistant like this, he wanted to be a manager in the Premier League; above all in the Premier League," Ancelotti said. "He had this opportunity and I think he took the right decision to go there. I hope for him all the best, but he has absolutely the skills, the quality to be a top manager."
Having started working together at Chelsea, Ancelotti and Clement teamed up again at Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, where they won the Champions League in 2014. In 2015-16, while Ancelotti took a season away from management, Clement was in charge at Championship side Derby County.
The pair resumed their relationship this season at Bayern and Ancelotti enjoyed the differences in their respective personalities.
"I think [Clement] has a different personality," Ancelotti said. "He's less quiet than me, but he has a strong motivation; really focused on his job. He's thinking about his job 24 hours a day, and the character is different. But we had a really good time together. We won a lot, but always we [had a good time]."