Carlo Ancelotti

Carlo Ancelotti, (born 10 June 1959) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Real Madrid.

Nicknamed "Don Carlo", he is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time.

Ancelotti is the most decorated manager in UEFA Champions League history, having won the trophy a record four times as coach (twice with AC Milan and twice with Real Madrid).

He is also the first and only one to have managed teams in five Champions League finals.

Ancelotti began his career in 1974 with Parma.

He made his professional debut in Serie C during the 1976–77 season, at the age of 18.

Under manager Cesare Maldini, he was often deployed behind the forwards, or as a second striker, due to his eye for goal.

Ancelotti excelled in these roles and helped Parma to a second place in the Serie C1 girone A during the 1978–79 season, which qualified the team for the Serie B play-offs.

In the decisive match in Vicenza, against Triestina, with the score tied at 1–1, he scored two goals, which gave Parma a 3–1 victory and sealed their place in Serie B the following season.

Ancelotti played as a midfielder and began his career with Italian club Parma, helping the club to Serie B promotion in 1979.

After attracting strong interest from Inter Milan, in mid-1979 Ancelotti transferred to Roma, and made his Serie A debut in a 0–0 draw against AC Milan on 16 September.

Under manager Nils Liedholm, he was deployed as a winger or central midfielder and became one of the club's most important players, in a team which featured Brazilian midfielders Falcão and Toninho Cerezo, as well as Italian footballers Roberto Pruzzo, Bruno Conti, Agostino Di Bartolomei and Pietro Vierchowod, winning consecutive Coppa Italia titles in his first two seasons with the club.

He moved to Roma the following season, where he won a Serie A title and four Coppa Italia titles, and also played for the late 1980s Milan team, with which he won two league titles and two European Cups, among other titles.

During his eight seasons in Rome, he won the Coppa Italia a total of four times (1980, 1981, 1984 and 1986).

After struggling with knee injuries, and managing second and third-place league finishes in 1981 and 1982, Ancelotti helped lead the team to win the Italian championship in 1983, the club's second league title in their history.

Under manager Enzo Bearzot, Ancelotti made his Italy national team debut and scored his first and only goal on 6 January 1981 in the 1980 World Champions' Gold Cup against the Netherlands, which ended in a 1–1 draw.

The following season, he even helped Roma to win another Coppa Italia title and reach the European Cup final in 1984, although he missed the final through injury, as Roma were defeated by Liverpool on penalties at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

He was named the team's captain in 1985 under new club manager Sven-Göran Eriksson, and served as a mentor to the young midfielder Giuseppe Giannini, as Roma won the Coppa Italia, but once again narrowly missed out on the league title during the 1985–86 Serie A season, finishing in second place behind Juventus.

From 1987 until 1992, Ancelotti played for Milan, and was a key part of the squad that won the Serie A title in 1988, consecutive European Cups in 1989 and 1990, two European Super Cups, two Intercontinental Cups and a Supercoppa Italiana under manager Arrigo Sacchi.

During this time, Milan, under the financial backing of club president Silvio Berlusconi, featured players such as Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Mauro Tassotti and Alessandro Costacurta as defenders; Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Roberto Donadoni as midfielders; and Marco van Basten upfront.

As a player, he won the European Cup twice with AC Milan in 1989 and 1990, making him one of seven people to have won the European Cup or Champions League as both a player and a manager.

Ancelotti is also the first and only manager ever to have won league titles in all of Europe's top five leagues.

He has won the FIFA Club World Cup three times, and is also the manager with the joint-most UEFA Super Cup triumphs, having won the trophy on four occasions, managing Milan and Real Madrid.

One of Ancelotti's most memorable moments with Milan was when he received a pass from Ruud Gullit, dribbled around two Real Madrid players and netted a powerful long-range shot during the Rossoneri's 5–0 thrashing of Real Madrid in the 1989 European Cup semi-finals.

He went on to play all 90 minutes in Milan's 4–0 win over Steaua București in the final.

The following season, Ancelotti suffered an injury to his left knee in the quarter-finals of the European Cup against KV Mechelen, which forced him to miss the semi-finals, although he was able to return in time to help Milan defend their title against Benfica in the final, held in Vienna.

At international level he played for the Italy national team on 26 occasions, scoring once, and appeared in two FIFA World Cups, finishing in third place in the 1990 edition of the tournament, as well as UEFA Euro 1988, where he helped his nation to reach the semi-finals.

Following Sacchi's departure, he won a second Serie A title under his replacement Fabio Capello during the 1991–92 Serie A season, as Milan won the title undefeated, but persistent knee injuries and competition from youngster Demetrio Albertini limited his playing time, and eventually forced him into premature retirement at the end of the season, at the age of 33.

He played the final match of his career with the club in a 4–0 home win over Hellas Verona on 17 May 1992, in which he came off the bench in the final 20 minutes of the game and scored two goals, and was given an ovation by the fans.

As a manager, Ancelotti worked for Reggiana, Parma and Juventus between 1995 and 2001, before rising to prominence with Milan.

Appointed as manager in 2001, he went onto win both the 2002–03 Champions League and 2002–03 Coppa Italia.

The following season, he won the Scudetto with an Italian record of 82 points from 34 games, and three years later he won his second Champions League with Milan.

During his tenure with Milan, Ancelotti was awarded the Serie A Coach of the Year twice.

He announced his resignation from Milan after the 2008–09 season, leaving as Milan's longest-serving manager in a single spell.

In 2009, he was appointed manager of Chelsea, winning the domestic double of the Premier League and FA Cup in his first season.

In 2011, he became the manager of French club Paris Saint-Germain; the following season he won them their first Ligue 1 title in 19 years and was awarded joint Ligue 1 Manager of the Year.

Following his success in France, Ancelotti was appointed manager of Real Madrid.

In his first season, he led Real Madrid to their long-sought tenth Champions League title, La Décima, and also won the Copa del Rey.

Despite collecting further honours with the club and being awarded the Miguel Muñoz Trophy in 2014–15 for the best performing manager in La Liga, Ancelotti was dismissed from Real Madrid in May 2015.

He became the manager of Bayern Munich in 2016, where he won the Bundesliga title in his first season, and following stints at Napoli and Everton between 2018 and 2021, he returned to Real Madrid in the summer of 2021, where he went on to win a La Liga–Champions League double.