Ancelotti, More Than Just A Manager
When 20 year old Carlo Ancelotti was signed by Roma and predicted to be a future superstar by the club president, the young Ancelotti had replied, “Let’s hope I’m not the kind of star that falls out of the sky … well, if that happens, at least people will
get to make a wish …” Not much has changed since then, except that Ancelotti is now one of the most successful managers in the world right now.
During his playing career Ancelotti survived two serious knee injuries, one of which kept him out of the 1982 World Cup, to come back and captain Roma while he was in his mid-20’s. He was not considered captain material, he was thought to be too nice but
under his captaincy Roma did very well, dominating the Serie A even when they did not win the title.
The “too nice” label followed him to his managing career, it was predicted that he would never be able to be a successful manager. Ancelotti has proved his critics wrong. The Italian has won two Champions League titles, apart from various domestic ones,
and looks to be going strong with his current club, Chelsea. He won the double; the English Premier League and the FA Cup, with the Blues in his first season with them, a first in the Blues history.
Ancelotti is now hungry for another first with the Blues. He wants glory in Europe by claiming the Champions League. He showed how serious he was against Marseille last week; the Blues were looking to bounce back from two straight losses; the first one coming
to Newcastle in the Carling Cup and then Manchester City in the Premier League. Ancelotti’s side did just that, beating the French side 2-0.
Chelsea were not favorites going into the Champions League fixture, the only thing the Blues had in their favor was the home advantage. Chelsea were without their star striker Didier Drogba, who was suspended, and Frank Lampard was recovering from surgery.
The side presented was hardly Ancelotti’s first choice, but the team showed their class and apart from the two goals, they hit the woodwork three times and had countless missed chances.
Next up were Arsenal, Ancelotti joined the team despite having lost his father the same week and having attended the funeral a morning before. He was faced with tough decisions upon his return, he had to make the most of a depleted squad; the likes of Frank
Lampard, Yossi Benayoun, Salomon Kalou and Jose Bosingwa were missing. The master tactician still managed to present a side which was too good for the Gunners.
Ancelotti did not blame his problems on injuries, he said, “We’ve had injuries and right now we have some players out. But everybody has injuries and we should be able to cope.” It does seem absurd that a manager in charge of a club bankrolled by a billionaire
should have to make do with such conditions. Ancelotti did not have unlimited funds like the managers before him, and his only signings were Ramires and Benayoun.
Considering that, Ancelotti is one of the best, if not the best, manager Chelsea have ever had. The Italian has taken upon himself to make Chelsea a self sustaining club in the near future; he has started on that by playing and developing the younger players.
Against Marseille, there were three teenagers in the squad, Josh McEachran (17), Jeffrey Bruma (18) and Gael Kakuta (19).
A recent change in spending, an excess of £4 million a year on youth academy and development and scouting suggests that the club realizes Ancelotti’s vision and are doing everything to expand it. Some would say that Ancelotti is going far ahead of his job
description, his job being to deliver silverware, more specifically the Champions League, but he’s gone beyond that.
Upon arriving at Stamford Bridge, Ancelotti realized that the squad was made up mostly of ageing players, and even though they were at their prime now, they wouldn’t be of much use after a season or two. Two of the best players, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard
are both 32 years old, Nicolas Anelka is 31, Florent Malouda is 30 and Captain John Terry is 29. A change was needed and Ancelotti is delivering it.
http://www.gibfootballshow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/CarloAncelotti_Chelsea.jpg
Tags: