Carlo Ancelotti, the quiet force that made Real Madrid unsinkable

The Merengues coach has the opportunity to win a second Champions League in three editions on Saturday in the final against Borussia Dortmund. The consecration of a management which is unanimous.

“I love my job and I don’t find it stressful”. Carlo Ancelotti said it in 2015 to The Independent and has no reason to reconsider his comments at the dawn of his Real Madrid’s Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday June 1. After all, if there’s one person who knows the flavor of such a meeting, it’s him. At Wembley, “Il Mister” will lead his sixth C1 final (including four wins, two records), the second in the last three editions.

“He never panics”, confirms ex-Malian international Mohamed Sissoko, who played under his orders at PSG between 2011 and 2013. From this time of the beginnings of the Qatari project in the capital, no image of anger of the Italian comes back. The elders especially remember the good nature of the native of Reggiolo, a “well living“, the type to go to a barbecue organized at defender Sylvain Armand’s house among his players.

“Carlo is Italian class. He is easy to get along with and close to his players. I don’t know a single person who speaks ill of him. He is demanding, asks a lot of you, but he give you full powers. He’s not here to hurt your head.”, develops Sissoko, who has not forgotten his former trainer’s passion for cigars. Hence this now iconic photo of Ancelotti, eccentric sunglasses on his nose, celebrating the title of 2022 Spanish champion by smoking among his players.

At 64 years old, half of which he spent coaching, Carlo Ancelotti retains the lightness that characterizes him, this quiet strength that has rubbed off on his team. Already the most sacred club in the history of the C1 before its first mandate (2013-2015), Real Madrid had unrivaled experience on the European scene. Instead of being content with it and relying on what has been achieved, the Italian has made it almost unsinkable, like the 2021-2022 campaign.

That year, his team punished PSG when they were two goals down 30 minutes from the end of the round of 16, survived after being trailed 3-0 by Chelsea in the quarter-final second leg and, above all, toppled Manchester City in the last five minutes of the semi-finals.

The season which is ending did not reach such a level of drama, but we found this Real Madrid which never really died. After snatching their ticket for the semi-finals on penalties against Manchester City, the Merengues went in a few minutes from virtually eliminated to qualified for the final thanks to two goals from Joselu, this incongruous understudy who discovers the C1 at 34 years old.

“The key to success is your relationship with the players. They must have fun in their work and feel free to show their talent.”

Carlo Ancelotti

at “The Independent” in 2015

“The main qualities that the team demonstrated this year are cohesion, concentration, collective. Despite some difficulties at the start, the season was excellent and the cohesion and professionalism of the group allowed us to meet all the challenges “There is a balance between the elders who lead by example and the younger ones, who are of very high quality.”explained Carlo Ancelotti in an interview with UEFA.

Also a double European champion as a player, the former midfielder is not the greatest tactician of the modern era, but he arouses the admiration of the best in his profession, including Pep Guardiola. “He has been all over the world, to great footballing countries and fantastic teams. He is an exceptional person. I met him years ago and every time I am with him he is calm, he has perfect control over his emotions.”had greeted the Spaniard between the two confrontations between his Cityzens and the Merengues in 2022.

Carlo Ancelotti, who managed Zinédine Zidane at Juventus, Kaka at AC Milan, and Cristiano Ronaldo at Real, is a flexible coach. He never establishes a game system as a dogma. “If I offered what I did twenty years ago, everyone would take me for an imbecile. Methods and training change. You have to stay in the game”, he recalled Monday. The wise old man understood that football was a sport in constant motion, even on the scale of a match. Adaptation to the context, to the opponent and to one’s own strengths is the key.

He is already wary of Edin Terzic’s Borussia Dortmund, refusing to assume favorite status. “We have to play against a team that played very well by eliminating PSG and Atlético de Madrid, showing commitment and the right attitude”, he tempered at a press conference, with simple words, a bit conventional, but evocative of the seriousness of Real. Who hasn’t won their last eight C1 finals for no reason.