Why Carlo Ancelotti is the best manager in the world as he chases the Champions League title with Real Madrid

Carlo Ancelotti is currently the best manager in the world. That may sound like a strong statement, but it is the reality. Ancelotti has an unprecedented opportunity against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, where his Real Madrid will take on the German side in the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley (as always, you can catch all the action on CBS, Biggest+CBS Sports Golazo Network and CBS Sports Network). Ancelotti is already the most decorated manager in the history of the Champions League, having won the competition four times as a coach (twice with AC Milan and twice with Real Madrid). By winning the final on Saturday he can win his fifth Champions League as manager. Those numbers speak for themselves.

Aneclotti’s uncertain start as a coach

Ancelotti is a serial winner as he is also the first and only manager to have coached teams in six Champions League finals. As a player, he won the Champions League twice in 1989 and 1990 with AC Milan, making him one of seven people to have won the competition both as a player and as a manager. However, his coaching career did not start with the same credibility and winning path. Carletto, as they call him, took his first coaching steps as an assistant to his former manager and mentor Arrigo Sacchi with the Italian national team, where they lost the 1994 World Cup in the USA on penalties in the final against Brazil.

He started his first team coaching career with Reggiana in the Italian second division and then with Parma, a team used to playing for and winning European trophies. However, Ancelotti was sacked after his second season at the club and waited six months before finding a new job at Juventus. The Bianconeri’s spell was unsuccessful, and despite winning the Intertoto Cup, Ancelotti’s team lost the Italian Serie A to Lazio in his second season with Juventus, albeit only by one point after defeating Perugia on the final matchday of the season. After two and a half seasons, the Juventus chapter ended a year later.

Ancelotti’s history of victories starts with AC Milan

Ancelotti’s winning era as a manager began at AC Milan, where he was appointed in the autumn of 2001 to replace Fatih Terim. Step by step, and thanks to an incredible team including Paolo Maldini, Clarence Seedorf, Andrea Pirlo, Alessandro Nesta and Andriy Shevchenko, Ancelotti eventually won his first major trophy as a manager, as well as his first Champions League in 2003. after beating against city rivals Inter in the semi-finals and his former club Juventus on penalties in the final played in Manchester. A year later, Ancelotti won the Italian Serie A title with AC Milan, while in 2005 he coached one of the most dramatic Champions League finals in history, when Liverpool staged a comeback from 0-3 to 3-3 in the Istanbul stadium. final and later won on penalties. Ancelotti and AC Milan waited another two years before taking revenge and winning the Athens final against the same team led by Rafa Benitez. Ancelotti left AC Milan in 2009 after winning one Serie A title, one Coppa Italia, one Supercoppa Italiana, two Champions League titles, two European Super Cups and one Club World Cup.

After his spell at AC Milan, Ancelotti was called in by Chelsea owner Roman Abrahmovic to become their manager. In his two years in the Premier League, Ancelotti won the Community Shield once, the Premier League in his first season at the club, and the FA Cup. It took six months before a new club was found, as in January 2012 PSG appointed Ancelotti as their new manager. In his year and a half at the club, Ancelotti won the LIgue 1 title, but in the summer of 2013 he became the new Real Madrid coach for the first time and left the French giants.

Ancelotti’s first Real Madrid stint

The Real Madrid chapter was immediately successful, as Ancelotti was able to manage a team full of stars such as Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and many others. In Madrid, Ancelotti won the historic Decima Champions League against Atletico Madrid in Lisbon before resigning and being replaced by Zinedine Zidane, his former assistant at the club. After his first spell in Madrid, Bayern Munich appointed Ancelotti, where he coached until September 2017, winning the Bundesliga before leaving the club. Ancelotti then coached Napoli and Everton, where he failed to win a single trophy for the first time since his Parma experience. They were different experiences, with Ancelotti being called upon to reinvigorate the two sides, and appearing to begin his declining experience as a manager. It looked like the great manager was about to ride off into the sunset. However, Ancelotti showed us the opposite.

A triumphant return to Real Madrid

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez decided to reappoint Ancelotti in the summer of 2021, in one of the smartest decisions of the game. Ancelotti brought back his winning mentality and also the human relationship he has with the players, one of his strongest points as a manager. In three years, Real Madrid won two La Liga titles, two Spanish Super Cups, one Copa del Rey, one UEFA Super Cup, one Club World Cup and, above all, one Champions League. His relationship with the players, his attitude and also the fact that he was able to return to the highest levels of the game make him the best manager among the top. Saturday’s final against Borussia Dortmund can only be a new confirmation.