Carlo Ancelotti made history again. Photo: AP
Arriving at Real Madrid at the start of the season, Carlo Ancelotti, the epitome of calm management, became this Saturday the first coach to lift four Champions to end a successful career. “I’m the record man”Italian DT joked when the medal was hanging around his neck, again …
Because Ancelotti finished in Paris in the best way in the first campaign of his second stint on the Merengue bench, lifting Real Madrid’s 14th European Cup, just weeks after winning the Spanish championship.
After a brief stint at Everton, the 62-year-old Italian ‘Il Mister’ returned to Real Madrid ten months ago, having trained between 2013 and 2015, ready to put him back in front after a blank year and continue to multiply the harvest of trophies for Bernabéu showcases.
Carleto, the king of Champions. Photo: AP
Winner of Italian (2003-2004), English (2009-2010), French (2012-2013) and German (2016-2017) leagues, Carletto added this year LaLiga, the only major European championship missing and thus the only coach to have won five majors.
“I can’t believe it. We’ve had a fantastic season. We’ve done things really well. I don’t know what else to say. I’m the man of records. I’ve been lucky enough to come to Real Madrid last year and had a fantastic season. It’s a fantastic club, a really great team, with qualities and a strong character. “he said after the fight.
The photo of the Reggiolo (northern Italy) native with sunglasses and cigars on his players went viral on the internet, after winning the league title. “The players are my friends,” said the coach, who a month later made history again by joining the Champions League won with Milan (2003, 2007) and Real Madrid (2014), a new continental title.
The Italian coach, who also knows what it means to win the Champions League as a player (1989, 1990), has surpassed the other two coaches who have three European Cups under their belt, the Frenchman Zinedine Zidane and Englishman Bob Paisley.
Carletto, between Militao and Ceballos, with his medal. Photo: Reuters
So Ancelotti expanded a collection of titles accumulated over a long career, which he returned to Madrid after a -relative- failure at Bayern Munich, where he won the Bundesliga in 2017, and his time at Napoli and Everton.
Paolo Maldini, former AC Milan captain, has often described him as a “quiet bear”. This calm and his great experience earned Ancelotti, supported by his son and second Davide, the support of Real Madrid heavyweights.
It wasn’t enough in 2015 to save his head after a frustrating season for the club, which he led in 2014 to his tenth Champions League.
But, the story did not end here between Ancelotti, whose husband is Spanish-Canadian, and Real Madrid, who was called back by president Florentino Pérez to replace Zidane, who became his deputy in the year of ‘Décima’ and shares his style of quiet management.
“Ancelotti gives us the confidence we all need,” assures young Brazilian winger Vinicius, who grew up with the Italian’s arrival to the point of scoring a decisive goal in the grand final in Paris.
Ancelotti and Vini Juniors. Photo: AP
In 2013, the diplomacy of this experienced coach, with gray hair and marked by humor, had already helped heal wounds in a changing room shared by his predecessor José Mourinho.
At Paris Saint-Germain he won the French championship in 2013, after failing in his first year, which rewarded the huge investments of his Qatari owners.
At Chelsea he scored an FA Cup-League double before being sacked in 2011.
The club of his life was still Milan, where Carletto met. First a player between 1987 and 1992 -after his appearance in Rome- and then a coach between 2001 and 2009, the coach spent 13 years at the Lombard club.
As a player, this energetic midfielder won two Champions (1989 and 1990) under the command of the legendary Arrigo Sacchi, where he joined the Italian team in the 1994 World Cup, where the blue will be runners. -up.
As coach, he revived the Rossoneri’s record with an Italian Cup in 2003, one league in 2004 and two Champions Leagues, in 2003 and 2007, as well as a lost season final in 2005 against Liverpool in Istanbul.
Ancelotti, in his time as DT of Milan. Photo: AP
After his fourth Champions League it’s hard to imagine this man, a wine lover and great gastronomy, being eternal in the world of football. “I want to spend time with my grandchildren, vacation with my wife, there are so many things I’ve neglected and I want to do,” the Italian told the Amazon Prime Video platform in early May.
“After Real, yes, I’ll probably stop. But if Real keep me here for ten years, I’ll train for ten years,” he added.
Source: AFP
Source: Clarin
