If you met him at the airport, during one of his frequent travels between the capitals of Europe, you would not tell who he is. Mild, good-natured-looking, well beyond the chant of Juventus supporters "a pig cannot be a coach", he does not have the physique du role of the “Wizard of the bench” or the "Noble detached Trainer". Yet Carlo Ancelotti, typical son of the land of Emilia (he has never rejected his peasant origins) and who is about to complete his collection of European capitals (after London, Paris, now Madrid), has always been a fighter in life, able to work hard, but also to reach classy performances, like when at his farewell to football he scored two goals, on the day of Milan’s 12th Serie A title.
Everyone is aware of his latest adventures as a successful trainer, but how was Ancelotti’s carreer as a player?
Ancelotti started playing in the youth team of Parma. Two goals in the decisive game for the promotion to Serie B were enough to capture the attention of the wise Nils Liedholm. Liedholm was one of the two key coaches that characterized “Carletto’s” career: the Swedish raised him as a man with an ironic and detached vision of life, and Arrigo Sacchi molded him as a coach, attentive and devoted to work. It is in Roma (from 1979) under the Swedish trainer that Ancelotti begun to develop his skills as a defensive midfielder. Intelligent, flexible, inconspicuous, vital and useful as a fork for a plate of spaghetti, he won an Italian championship and 2 Italian Cups (one goal in the final against Torino).
At Roma Ancelotti suffers his first two important injuries (the first one [video] against Fiorentina in 1981 saw his scream enter in most people’s houses through the images of the widely followed TV program “La Domenica Sportiva” , just a few months before another scream - Marco Tardelli’s - would enlighten the hearts of all Italian fans in Spain ‘82). Only the injuries denied him the possibility of participating to some of football’s main events (i.e. the above mentioned World Cup in Spain‘82 and the European Cup Final Roma-Liverpool, in Roma, in 1984). His only significant appearances with the “Azzurri” are limited to 7 CAPS between Euro ’88 and the World Cup Italy ’90. At the end of his career he collected only 26 CAPS in the national team and 1 goal, scored in his first match against Holland, in the curious Uruguayan 1981 Mundialito.
But his motto “Life offers always a second chance”, seems to perfectly characterize his career and his obstinacy to reach goals (above all the Champions League revenge against Liverpool in 2007). The financial difficulties of As Roma forced his transfer to Milan during the summer of 1988. From this moment, until 1992, he won everything with the “rossoneri”: 3 Italian Titles, 2 European Cups, 2 Intercontinental Cups, 2 Uefa Super Cups.
Ancelotti’s crossing with destiny is now at its latest chapter. As head of the “Casa Blanca” he is expected to give back what he took away 24 years ago, when Real Madrid lived one of their darkest nights in their glorious history: Carlo scored the first of five goals from just outside the box, and Milan went on beating Real Madrid 5-0. His new fans want their dreams back…with interests!
Friday, May 23 rd, 2014
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