So, less than twenty-four hours after leaving AC Milan, coach Carlo Ancelotti has been appointed as the manager of Chelsea on a three-year deal.
Disappointing
The forty-nine year-old Ancelotti left Milan on Sunday after guiding them to a third-place finish in Serie A and guaranteed Champions League football. In truth, the past couple of seasons have been disappointing for Ancelotti at the San Siro as failure to qualify for the Champions League last season was followed by the third place finish in the league and failure in the UEFA Cup this season.
He will officially take over on 1st July and replaces Russia coach Guus Hiddink, who signed off as Chelsea manager with an FA Cup win on Saturday.
A statement on the Chelsea website made a very strong case in support of the appointment of Ancelotti,
“Carlo was the outstanding candidate for the job. He has proved over a long period his ability to build teams that challenged for, and have been successful in, major domestic and European competitions. He also had a highly successful playing career in those competitions and therefore brings unparalleled all round experience to the job.”
Ancelotti spent eight seasons at Milan winning Serie A once and the Champions League twice. He told Chelsea TV that the Champions League is the trophy that he has his sights firmly set on.
“For me, the Champions League is a beautiful sensation because when I played I won two times in 1989 and 1990 and it was a fantastic achievement, and it was the same as a coach in 2003 and 2007. Champions League, for me, is the best competition in the world and all teams want to win it. Five semi-finals in six years is a beautiful score but now we need to win.”
A couple of Chelsea’s top players, including captain John Terry have recently been quoted as saying that the team needs a period of stability in terms of management and that the new man will need to be given time to achieve what he wants to achieve. Although Ancelotti has been given a three year deal, the issue of whether he will be given time is far from clear in the current Chelsea regime.
Fifth manager
Ancelotti is the club’s fifth manager in twenty-one months following Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Hiddink. Depending on whether you believe John Terry or Claude Makelele the suggestion is that Abramovich bowed to senior player power to fire Mourinho despite the success he had achieved. Avram Grant was fired after one season where he missed out on the Premier League by two points and the Champions League through John Terry’s infamous penalty miss.
Scolari came to the club with a great record and was given less than a season when results dipped. Guus Hiddink came in, did well and was obviously Abramovich’s first choice. Of course, although Hiddink was hailed as a hero by the Chelsea owners, players and fans alike, he actually achieved little more that Avram Grant.
Ancelotti has spoken highly of Chelsea and the Premier League in general,
“I think is the right moment for a new challenge and I want to put all my energy into Chelsea. Now it is time to change and I think Chelsea was a great opportunity and a great team to do a new experience. I like the Premier League because there are great teams and they play good football. Now there are more tactical matches and very speedy, I like this football. The teams think to defend well and afterwards to attack. I watch Chelsea, I watch Liverpool I watch Manchester United, I know very well English football. I believe in teamwork. It is the most important thing to create a group that work together to build a dream. The players must have a strong organisation and strong discipline and strong motivation. I hope to do this the right way to arrive at success.”
Nobody can question the record of Carlo Ancelotti and he is inheriting a very good, if ageing team. There is no reason why he cannot be a great success at Chelsea but hanging over his head, as it would be for any manager at the club, is the knowledge that two or three poor results as he attempts to change things to his way of doing it, could lead to Abramovich losing his patience.
I wish Ancelotti well and hope he gets the time and support he will need to change Chelsea from the nearly men into what Abramovich desires.
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