Italian legend tips Real Madrid trio as potential Ballon d’Or winners | OneFootball

As Real Madrid get set to take on Juventus tonight in the Round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup, the game promises to be a special one for a certain Fabio Capello.

The legendary Italian tactician enjoyed a successful stint as Real Madrid manager, winning two league titles in both the seasons he was in charge in 1996/97 and 2006/07.

Between 2004 and 2006, Capello was also the manager of the Juventus first-team setup. As such, tonight’s clash will see two of his former teams collide on the field.

Capello speaks ahead of Club World Cup clash

While he will not be in attendance in the USA for the match, Capello spoke to Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t AS) ahead of tonight’s encounter between Real Madrid and Juventus.

During the chat, the former Italy manager was full of praise for Real Madrid’s terrific trio of Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, and Vinicius Jr., hailing them as potential Ballon d’Or winners.

Potential Ballon d’Or winners according to Capello. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

“Vinicius, Mbappe, and Bellingham are three potential Ballon d’Or winners,” he said.

Capello also went on to speak highly of former Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti for the job he had done to get the best out of the aforementioned trio.

“Many said Ancelotti relied solely on individual talent, but he’s actually been excellent at leveraging his players’ talents. Now we’ll see how Xabi Alonso performs, as he certainly has the personality to succeed in Madrid,” added Capello.

The former manager also expressed his surprise and disappointment about Juventus letting go of Dean Huijsen, who has now signed for Real Madrid and is already looking like a brilliant addition.

“I’m surprised Juve didn’t understand the kid’s obvious potential. Huijsen can’t have suddenly become good. If he’s playing for Real Madrid at 20, he should have been at Juve even more,” said Capello.