Pep, Zidane, or Ancelotti? Toni Kroos directly points out the best coach.

Former player Toni Kroos did not hesitate to name the best coach he has ever worked with throughout his illustrious career.

Toni Kroos unexpectedly announced his retirement in May 2024 and officially hung up his boots after Germany was eliminated by Spain in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals.

The star born in 1990 concluded his time at Real Madrid with a La Liga title and his fifth Champions League trophy under Ancelotti, thereby ending a decade full of honors in the Spanish capital. Kroos played 731 club matches for Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid, including 200 matches under Ancelotti's guidance during their two periods of working together.

He also played under coaches such as Pep Guardiola, Louis van Gaal, and Zinedine Zidane. Although Kroos played the most matches under Zidane (209 games), he still emphasized that the Italian strategist Ancelotti is the coach he most prefers.

In an interview in November 2025, Kroos revealed: "Carlo Ancelotti is the best from my perspective. Working with Carlo Ancelotti was truly an excellent experience. He always gave us freedom and did not tell us what to do or what not to do, because he trusted our quality and instincts."

Meanwhile, Ancelotti recently also praised Kroos's humility when sharing on the podcast The Rest is Football: "I was fortunate in the second phase to have Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos; I was lucky to work with a group without ego. There were outstanding players like Luka Modric, Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Dani Carvajal, and Karim Benzema, but none of them had an ego."

Up to this point, Carlo Ancelotti is the most successful coach in Champions League history with five titles. After conquering the trophy with AC Milan in 2003 and 2007, the Italian strategist continued to showcase his leadership at Real Madrid, helping the team complete La Decima in 2014. After returning to Bernabeu in June 2021, Ancelotti and his pupils secured two more Champions League titles (2022 and 2024), along with two La Liga titles (2021/22 and 2023/24).

After parting with Real Madrid in the summer of 2025, Ancelotti continued his career by coaching the Brazilian national team. Over the past ten months, he has helped Selecao secure a spot in the 2026 World Cup and is expected to lead the team to its sixth world championship title in history.