Ancelotti is the only champion coach in five of Europe’s elite leagues. He has made Milan, PSG, Bayern, Chelsea, and Real Madrid first. Guardiola and Mourinho could do the same because their namesakes have a reputation for genius. But the Italian has a different approach. He came into the coaching world from under the wing of the official genius of his homeland, Sacchi.
Carlo Ancelotti of the coaching world
Carlo’s assistant was vice-champion of the world. But the final ended in tragedy for Italy; no one brags about losing on penalties to Brazil. Ancelotti stood on the line, learning from the best. Carlo has had an amazing life. The young Parma midfielder accidentally took part in a unique match between the teams of great directors Pasolini and Bertolucci.
No one knew the cheeky lad then, and years later, Ancelotti became the Italian champion with AS Roma and AC Milan as a footballer, winning two Champions Cups and a whole collection of other honors. And then he became a versatile coach. Whereas Guardiola breaks down teams to suit himself, Ancelotti offers a rhythm that suits a particular squad.
The great AC Milan and Real Madrid are similar in that they are about star-studded squads. But with Carlo, these teams could have four Champions Cups. Michels, Ferguson, Sarri, Cruyff, Guardiola, Herrera – mentors who dominated. All were often arrogant. Ancelotti is ‘his guy.’ He dances and sings.
De Bruyne came to the game the other day wearing a recognizable mouse coat. This a reference to Lieutenant Columbo, but just Kevin is not at all like the famous character. The detective pretends to be a simpleton, and the comparison rather suits Ancelotti. But pretending to be stupider than you are without causing annoyance takes skill.
Ancelotti is a man alive. He has had some well-deserved failures in his coaching career. Right now, Real Madrid are not in peak form. But the Brazilians are openly begging Carlo to take charge of the Celesas. And Perez has stated that Carlo is under contract for another year. However, Florentino is not offering a new deal to Lieutenant Colombo.
The wily Spaniard has one more question: “Will there be a final?” It was amusing before the match in Madrid that some pundits had assumed a defeat for Real Madrid. In the case of a club with a hundred valuable trophies, we should not confuse fortune with status. Yes, Real is falling behind in La Liga, which Barcelona has taken advantage of.
There are errors in defense. Courtois stepped in yesterday, as did Ederson. And Casemiro, to cover De Bruyne’s shot, is no longer in the Real Madrid line-up. But this is “bad” by Real Madrid’s standards. If Madrid had a different mentor at the helm right now, their opponents would be more likely to take advantage of the Spanish club’s central defenders.
Kroos, as a holding midfielder, does not do all that much in terms of tackling. There are more free zones than before. There is no doubt that they are looking for a right-wing lateral in place of actor Carvajal. Ancelotti, on the other hand, boasts good work with Valverde, Rodrigo, and Vinicius. Modric and Benzema are ready to go into battle for the coach.
Look even at Courtois’ condition. With many mentors, this goalkeeper could play worse, break down mentally, and make more mistakes. It’s clear that the Belgian was also helped by Zidane. But Ancelotti is a charming gaffer whose personal magic perhaps only failed to work in Munich. Even at Everton, the team loved him.
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Guardiola will have a hard time getting past it
Real Madrid is more independent than Manchester City. That’s probably the difference. Without Guardiola – and he has six departures in the semi-finals so far against three passes on – they won’t make it. The Citizens are honed to follow orders; all their chaos is programmed. So when Grealish himself needs to become the Azar of better times, he fails.
But Walker, Gundogan, or Holand are machines. It is possible that in Manchester, Guardiola will play more successfully against Real Madrid. There will be more control of the ball and even more pressing, as in the opening minutes in Madrid, fewer of the Spanish counter-attacks were allowed. Ancelotti has played some bad matches this season. But that doesn’t stop him from remembering that he is a great coach.
“Real made Manchester City play confused. The English’s attempt to show that only one team has Holand on the pitch has failed. All of Ancelotti’s tricks against Erling worked. The game without any close-range shots – for the entire encounter, one from the edge of the goalkeeper’s area from Benzema – reminded us of Real Madrid’s peculiarity.
Whatever the state of the team, whatever changes await its future, and legends are leaving. The Champions League holds up. Ancelotti has frozen intrigue and is off to Manchester with it. And Guardiola was nervous as he risked losing without De Bruyne’s whipping shot. “Real bet on individual class.
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Ancelotti remains king of the Champions League.
Master of balance. If Michels, Guardiola, and Ferguson were always concerned with reinventing the rocket by destroying the one before them, Ancelotti remains a fine-tuning specialist. There are few coaches of this caliber and success in the world whose ego has so rarely prevented them from communicating with their stars. Cruyff didn’t have the nerve to be a coach for decades.
Guardiola is learning groundedness and humility. Saved the match yesterday by ordering City to become Real Madrid. The Belgian scored for the Belgian as the Brazilian scored for the Brazilian. But Josep is far from Ancelotti in simplicity. Carlo has many friends and is a well-known supporting actor – starring not only in his beloved Star Trek, where he was invited by his girlfriend, Zoe Saldana.
The Italian regrets that, because of football, he rarely sees his loved ones, apart from his son Davide, who works with him. But the sacrifices are not in vain. In Manchester, Carlo will break Ferguson’s record. We don’t know if Ancelotti will lose in the return match or not. It is unclear whether Real Madrid, if they get there, will be able to avoid repeating the mistake of Milan.
But even if the incredibly powerful Guardiola, Holand, and De Bruyne knock out the tough Spaniards, Carlo remains a great coach, and his club is one of the favorites for the coming seasons. And it was the Italian, after all, who rid Real Madrid of their Champions League complex nine years ago. It was Carlo who won the tournament without Ronaldo a year ago.
Madrid’s football does not take your breath away. They don’t have a winning streak of twenty. On the contrary, just two wins in their last five games, and they won the Spanish Cup without a rout. But with Ancelotti on the line, all it takes is a wagging of the famous eyebrow to make the reigning Champions Cup holders a bone in Guardiola’s throat.
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