Born Carlo Ancelotti about six decades ago in Reggiolo, Italy, this footballing enigma has sufficiently carved a niche for himself as a manager of intimidating renown. Like many sports, the game of football has witnessed iconoclastic managers who singularly plied their trade with class and charisma. In the past decades, names like Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Rafael Benitez, Fabio Capello, will ring a generational bell in European Club Football. Jose Mourinho (the special one), Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Zinnedine Zidane can be loosely grouped in a different generation as frightening forces to reckon with.
One name that towers high above others in the arena of European football, and what makes it the more intriguing as a calm, unassuming personality, is Carlo Ancelotti. He happens to be the most decorated manager in UEFA Champions League, having won the trophy a record four times as coach ( twice with AC Milan and twice with Real Madrid) and, if things work to plan, he will be winning a record treble with Real Madrid and a remarkable total of five.
Nicknamed “Carletto” in Italy and “Don Carlo” in Spain, he is the first and only one to have managed teams in six Champions League finals. During his playing days, he won the European Cup twice with AC Milan in 1989 and 1990, making him one of seven players to have won the European Cup or Champions League as both a player and a manager.
“Don” is also the first and only manager ever to have won league titles in all of Europe’s top five leagues, referred to as the “Big Five”- England, Germany, Spain, France and Italy (dubbed the English Premier League, the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A respectively).
The czar won the 2002-03/2006-07 Champions League with AC Milan and 2013-14/2021-22 with Real Madrid.
Clearly, he is not the most successful coach in European football in terms of how many trophies won, with the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola in this modern era amassing more than seventy trophies between them. However, in relation to the Champions League, the most prestigious club footballing fiesta, no one holds a candle to Carlo Ancelotti, he amiable Italian tactician.
Saturday, June 1, 2024, at Wembley, the Don will file out with the Galacticos and attempt to further establish his dominance as czar of the European Champions League, making him the best by some distance.
