Carlo Ancelotti has compared Franck Ribery to a highly tuned Ferrari to explain why he can't pick the French winger every week for Bayern Munich.
Ribery has been in fine form for the German giants this season after injuries derailed much of his 2015-16 campaign. The former Marseille man has scored three goals and provided 14 assists in all competitions for Ancelotti's first-placed squad.
"We shouldn't forget that football is only a game," the Bayern boss told French newspaper Journal du Dimanche.
"You have to be focussed but don't take it too seriously. Ribery can speak a little Italian and is always in a good mood. I like irony and having a joke with him," Ancelotti said.
"Of course, he can't play in every game because I've got a lot of good players. But I believe we have found a good balance."
Ribery has only started 10 Bundesliga games this season with six further substitute appearances. He's also twice languished on the bench for a whole 90 minutes as an unused sub under Ancelotti.
But Ancelotti explained: "I've told Franck. Listen you are like a Ferrari -- and you can't drive a Ferrari every day -- only on Sundays. You cannot play when it's not a Sunday."
"He can laugh about it; he's just a good bloke."
Ancelotti also found some nice words for his former player and assistant Zinedine Zidane, with whom he led Los Blancos to La Decima in 2014. Zidane will bring the Champions League holders to Munich next Tuesday for a quarterfinal first-leg match.
"As a player he was a modest person," Ancelotti insisted.
"He always wanted to learn and understand everything too as my assistant. He has loads of charisma and that's important for a manager."