Carlo Ancelotti continues to write history. The one obtained with Real Madrid this evening is the 28th trophy as a coach which makes him one of the most successful in history.
THE FAME OF A LOSER AT THE START OF His CAREER – And to think that until 28 May 2003 the coach from Reggiolo, a pupil of Arrigo Sacchi, was accompanied by the reputation of a loser. At the time 43 years old, Ancelotti already had a promotion to Serie A with Reggiana on his CV, his first experience as a coach, and an Intertoto with Juventus, a trophy which the Juventus team are careful not to show off. In fact, there were more failures that marked his path: zero titles with a Parma team that was among the strongest in Italy at the time, despite the fact that he was the first (and still only) to bring the ducals to play in the Champions League. At Juventus two and a half years, two second places, one of which was sensational under the downpour of Perugia. And a love that never blossomed with the Juventus fans. For his past as a footballer at Roma and Milan and for having had the “wrong” of succeeding Marcello Lippi.
CHAMPIONS 2002/03, THE TURNING POINT OF THE CAREER – His career took a crossroads twice within a few weeks: the first, on 13 May 2003 with the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Inter. An elimination would have risked compromising his experience at Milan, where he had arrived in November 2001. The second, precisely, on 28 May 2003, in the final against Juventus. We all know how it went. Ancelotti himself declared at the time: “Now I am no longer a loser.” It will be the first of four Champions League wins, two of them with the Rossoneri.
CHELSEA 2009/10, THE FIRST EXPERIENCE AWAY – He will remain at Milan for almost 8 years, no one after him has remained so long on a Serie A bench. In between the first scudetto, with a record score in the three-point era in an 18-team tournament: season of grace 2003/ 04. He will fly to London in 2009, winning at the first try and setting a record there too: 103 goals scored in a single tournament. And then Paris Saint-Germain where he was the first prestigious coach chosen by the Qatari owners: he won Ligue 1, said goodbye and joined Real Madrid (first parenthesis which gave the club the much desired “Decima”), then Bayern where the Bundesliga is secured at the first try. Naples and especially Everton seemed the antechamber of an early farewell to certain dreams of glory, before the unexpected call from Madrid after Zidane’s farewell.
RECORD ON RECORD – A choice that seemed like a fallback, however Ancelotti returns, wins his first Liga and surpasses Ernst Happel, José Mourinho and Giovanni Trapattoni: all three winners in 4 different countries while in first place overall belongs to Tomislav Ivic, champion in 6 different nations . What makes the difference is the weight of the championships, because the Croatian won in Yugoslavia, Holland, Belgium, Greece, Portugal and France. Not happy, he won the Champions League, his fourth big-eared cup, setting an absolute record as a coach.
WHO HAS WON THE MOST TITLES? – Sir Alex Ferguson with 50 trophies between St. Mirren, Aberdeen and Manchester United remains unattainable. Followed by Mircea Lucescu and Jock Stein with 38, Valeri Lobanowski and Pep Guardiola with 36. King Charles is satisfied with sixth place, but how much quality in the titles won….
