Football Genius: Carlo Ancelotti

Carlo Ancelotti was born 10 June 1959. Is an Italian football manager, Nicknamed Carletto, Ancelotti played as a midfielder and had a successful career with Roma – captaining the team – with whom he won one Scudetto and 4 Coppa Italia and was part of the legendary late 80's Milan team, with whom he won two Scudetti and two European Cups in a five-year period. After spells as manager of Reggiana, Parma and Juventus, Carlo Ancelotti was appointed Milan manager in 2001. He won the Scudetto in 2004, the Champions League in 2003 and 2007 and the Coppa Italia in 2003. They were also Serie A and Champions League runner-ups in 2005. 

He was capped 26 times and scored one goal for the Italian national team and appeared at the 1986 and 1990 World Cups. He is one of six men to have won the European Cup as player and manager. In May 2009 he was appointed Chelsea manager and in his first season led them to a historic Premier League and FA Cup Double. He became only the second non-British manager to win the double, the other being Arsène Wenger. After an uneven Premier League season in which Chelsea failed to retain the title, Ancelotti was dismissed as Chelsea manager in May 2011. 

Ancelotti was appointed Milan manager in 2001, after Fatih Terim was sacked, due to poor results. He was inheriting another recently trophyless team in Milan, as the Rossoneri had floundered domestically and in Europe since their last Scudetto victory in 1999. 

In his first full season, Ancelotti soon had Milan back in European competition, leading them to the semi-finals of the 2001–02 UEFA Cup. Ancelotti made his debut and scored his first and only goal on 6 January 1981, in a one-off tournament against Netherlands, which ended in a 1–1 draw. He was very likely to be capped for the 1982 World Cup campaign, but a dramatic knee injury forced him away for several months. Carlo Ancelotti began his career in 1974 with Parma. 

His finest moment with Milan was when he received a pass from Ruud Gullit, dribbled around two 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 dismantling of Steaua Bucureşti in the final. 

He also went on to appear in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, along with Roberto Donadoni, Roberto Mancini and Paolo Maldini. Ancelotti made a total of 26 performances, scoring one goal for Italy, before he announced his retirement from international football in 1991. 

The following season, Ancelotti, who was heavily criticized by Silvio Berlusconi, due to his defensive tactics, was able to adopt a creative play in Milan while making several roster changes. He made Dida, still maligned for his 2000–01 Champions League howler against Leeds United, his new starting goalkeeper barely a month into the 2002–03 season, while converting budding attacking midfielder Andrea Pirlo to a defensive playmaker and playing him behind Rui Costa. At the same time,Filippo Inzaghi and Andriy Shevchenko were dominant and dynamic. Milan won the 2003 Champions League, beating Juventus 3–2 on penalties at Old Trafford and the Coppa Italia and took home the Scudetto in 2004. 

In 1979, he transferred to Roma, as captain and midfielder, where he won the Italian championship in 1983, the Coppa Italia four times and helped Roma to reach the European Cup final in 1984. From 1987 until 1992, he played for Milan, and was part of the Milan squad that won consecutive European Cups in 1989 and 1990. During this time, Milan played with one of their finest teams ever assembled in that decade, with 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. On 1 June 2009, Ancelotti, succeeding temporary replacement Guus Hiddink, was confirmed as the new Chelsea manager after agreeing to a three-year contract worth £9 million, and formally assumed his duties on the 1st of July. Ancelotti became the club's fourth permanent manager in 21 months, following José Mourinho, Avram Grant, and Luiz Felipe Scolari. He was also the third Italian to manage Chelsea, after Gianluca Vialli and Claudio Ranieri. 

On 9 August 2009, Ancelotti won his first trophy as Chelsea manager, the Community Shield, beating Manchester United on penalties, following a 2–2 draw. His first Premier League game in charge of the Blues ended in a 2–1 home victory over Hull City on 15 August 2009. Chelsea lost their first game under Ancelotti at the DW Stadium against Wigan Athletic on 26 September, losing 3–1. They were eliminated from the League Cup on 2 December, reaching the quarter-finals stage after a penalty shootout defeat to Blackburn Rovers after a 3–3 draw at Ewood Park. Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League on 16 March 2010 after a 1–3 aggregate loss to Internazionale, having lost both home and away, in the Round of 16 stage. 

On 15 May 2010, Ancelotti led Chelsea to win the 2009–10 FA Cup, beating Portsmouth 1–0 in the final at Wembley, which marked the third time Chelsea had won the FA Cup in four years, equalling a record set by Arsenal between 2002 and 2005. The Cup win secured Chelsea's first ever domestic double. 

On 5 January 2011, Chelsea suffered a shock 1–0 defeat at struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers, leaving them fifth in the Premier League and in real danger of missing out on a Champions League place for the first time since 2002. This result led to Ancelotti ruling out Chelsea's chances of retaining the title, but he insists that he does not fear that he will be sacked. Following their defeat in Champions League, Ancelotti shifted his entire focus on Premier League. Chelsea made a remarkable comeback deafeating Wigan 1–0 at home, West Bromwich Albion 3–1 away, Birmingham City 3–1, West Ham United 3–0 and Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea, who were fifth and fifteen points behind leaders Manchester United, came second in league three points behind them. Recently, Ancelotti has had to travel back to Italy on a regular basis to visit his 87-year-old father who was in poor health with diabetes and other issues. On the issue he said "I don't have a problem managing the team for this reason. It's difficult, emotionally, when it's your father... but this is life. I have to do my best to stay close to him, but this is the life. " Giuseppe Ancelotti died in the early hours of 30 September 2010. 

On 8 May 2011, Chelsea lost to Manchester United 2–1 at Old Trafford to be second in the league and six points behind them with just two more games to play. He was sacked less than two hours after a 1–0 defeat at Everton on 22 May. However, since 15 January 2011, Chelsea's form began to turn with a 2–0 home victory against Blackburn followed by emphatic away wins against Bolton and Sunderland putting them fourth, still 10 points behind leaders Manchester United. 

Ancelotti has two children: a daughter, Katia, and a son, Davide, who also played in the Milan youth team and later joined Borgomanero in June 2008. In 2008, Carlo Ancelotti confirmed in an interview that he had broken up with his wife of 25 years. In May 2009, Ancelotti's autobiography, Preferisco la Coppa ("I Prefer the Cup", with a word-play by Ancelotti on the Italian word "coppa" that stands both for "cup" and a type of cured cold pork meat cut), was published, with all proceeds from sales of the book going to the Fondazione Stefano Borgonovo for the funding of research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. On January 31, Chelsea signed Liverpool striker Fernando Torres for a British record £50 million and Benfica defender David Luiz for £22 million. Chelsea lost 1–0 to Liverpool at Stamford Bridge but beat league leaders Manchester United on 1 March 2011 in a 2–1 comeback that saw Luiz get his first Chelsea goal, which was followed by a 3–1 win away to Blackpool. Chelsea were later defeated by Manchester United at home and away in the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.