Carlo Ancelotti will mark his 1,000th game as a Coach today and casts his eye over Bayern Munich, Claudio Ranieri and reducing Serie A to 18 teams.
The former Milan, Juventus, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid boss will reach the milestone today after 21 seasons, winning 18 trophies and 591 victories.
Carlo Ancelotti will mark his 1,000th game as a Coach today and casts his eye over Bayern Munich, Claudio Ranieri and reducing Serie A to 18 teams.
The former Milan, Juventus, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid boss will reach the milestone today after 21 seasons, winning 18 trophies and 591 victories.
“I think things are going well. We beat Arsenal 5-1 in the Champions League, which isn’t bad… Bayern have only one demand: to remain competitive. Pep Guardiola reached the semi-final three times and I hope to do that too,” Ancelotti told Quotidiano Sportivo.
“If you look at what’s happening now in the Champions League with Barcelona or last summer to Euro 2016, you want to admire the great stars at the end of the season and instead teams are exhausted and drag themselves to penalty shoot-outs.
“Leagues with 20 teams are too long and heavy-going, especially if it’s a fight to the end for who will be in Europe next season. In Germany we have 18 teams, which means four fewer games and an extra month of rest. It’s not a small detail.
“There is nothing new to invent in football. What they ask you is to bring experience, diversity and philosophy, sharing all of that with your collaborators.
“When I think of Reggiana years ago, I remember people would say if your legs hurt after training, it meant you had worked well. I later discovered that wasn’t true.
“Italian Coaches are at the vanguard and it’s thanks to the Coverciano courses as well as the fact Serie A is an extremely tactical league. We discuss three or four at the back not just to chat, but to evaluate the movements of the opposition and avoid ugly surprises.
“In England they play four at the back, everywhere, If you arrive and change things, you’re the one who provides an ugly surprise for the others. That’s what Claudio Ranieri did at Leicester and Antonio Conte at Chelsea.
“The problem is that everyone thinks they are a Coach, above all club Presidents. I think it’s better to make your observations to a Coach over a glass of wine rather than through the TV cameras.”
Even Ranieri, who won a miraculous Premier League title with Leicester City nine months ago, was sacked.
“There is a fine psychological line that’s the issue here. The Coach is the one who loses, the President and players those who win. They struggle to accept substitutions or changes. Our lives are increasingly difficult in this line of work, as more than the game, you need to work on man-management.”
Although Ancelotti admits to having some issues with the German language, he is studying three hours per day and relaxing into life in Munich.
“Germany feels like Lombardy to me and it’s not that different. I was happy enough in Paris, London, Madrid, Munich, then of course my tranquil retreat in Vancouver, Canada.”