Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti met once in Serie A when the Manchester City boss played for Brescia and beat the Rossoneri, coached by the Italian tactician.

Guardiola spent two years in Italy as a footballer, playing for Roma and Brescia. When he joined the Rondinelle under Carlo Mazzone, Brescia had one of the most exciting teams in Italy with him, Roberto Baggio and a young Italian prospect that would become World Champion a few years later: Luca Toni.

Current Lazio director Igli Tare was also part of the team. The former Albania striker delivered the assist for Stephen Appiah’s winner against Ancelotti’s Milan in a meeting at the Stadio Mario Rigamonti in Brescia on May 10, 2003. Pierluigi Collina was the referee of the game.

It was the first and only meeting between Guardiola and Ancelotti in Serie A. Juventus won the title that season but lost the Champions League Final against the Rossoneri in Manchester. Ancelotti rotated his team massively for the game against Brescia, which was played a few days before the second leg of the Champions League semis against Inter.

Ancelotti and Guardiola meet again tonight in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals between Manchester City and Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium. Ancelotti has won two games against Guardiola as a coach, losing four.

Brescia vs. Milan line-ups – May 10, 2003

Brescia (3-5-2): Sereni; Petruzzi, Bilica, Dainelli; Martinez, Filippini, Appiah, Guardiola, Seric; Toni (Tare), Baggio. Coach: Mazzone

Milan (4-3-2-1): Dida; Simic, Roque Junior, Laursen, Kaladze (Maldini); Ambrosini, Redondo (Pirlo), Brocchi; Serginho (Shevchenko), Rivaldo; Tomasson. Coach: Ancelotti.

20 thought on “When Guardiola beat Ancelotti in Serie A”
  1. Baggio was so good. Dida has to be one of the most underrated keepers ever. As a Milan fan I know how good he was. One of the best in the world!

  2. I think the truth lies between the 2 extremes as far as Dida is concerned. He was a good keeper with a mistake in him. You don’t play for Milan if you’re awful.

  3. Every goalkeeper makes mistakes! Dida at his best is and was positionally the best keeper to play for Milan since cudicini and one of the absolute greats!

  4. Dida a bad keeper ? Cocaine is a hell of a drug . But let’s argue here is it that our back line was so good that made him so underrated? Maldini, Nesta were perennial defender which could have made his job either easier or his contribution going unnoticed. Either way I always loved Dida and I think he was great and the fact that he is our goalkeeper coach says it all

  5. @Rosario How didnt u know many milan fans like me called Dida as “Mr howler” for many mistakes he was doing in goalkeeping in some crucial matches? He is slightly overrated by some degrees. Abbiati somehow better than him.

  6. @rosario Better you watch every milan game with ur heart , be fair and not to only catch scoreline using livescore.com lol. And you should read on the internet and googling it “Dida weakest” and you would get that he was 10th worst players in UCL, and lost his fist place to Kalac and Abbiati.

  7. @rosario And we are the type of fan of the hardest, not being weak and lame fans (lol) who always cheer every rubbish players who not helping the club.

  8. @Kabib.

    Born in Basiglio, I have seriously been watching my club since I was 5-6 years old. In 2027, that will be 40 years.

    The fact that you somehow placed Abbiati of all keepers ahead of Dida means it would do my brain the disservice to grant you any more responses. Without Dida, Milan would’ve never won the champions league in 2003. He was critical in the away game at Bayern m, saving a Ballack shot at a critical moment. without him, Ajax would’ve knocked Milan out in san siro. You go and believe what you want to believe, fella.

  9. @Rosari not to demean him. In front of him was a bunch of greatest defenders in the world, not to mention midfielders and top strikers. Unless his shaky performance and his apparent laziness to came out his goal post, Milan should won more cups. There was a manager of an Europe club, unfortunately i forgot who is he and I am unable to retrace it, said that weakest part of that Milan’s Shevchenko era is the brazilian goalkeeper.

  10. @Rosario, be noted that he was replaceable by other goalkeepers because of his performance. Far different than Buffon, Kahn, van Der Sar, Casillas, Schmeichel for they were replaceble because of their ages, they were five star goalkeeper. Dida is just a third star goalkepper in a great five star club, who did ordinary performance.

  11. Dida was one of the best in the world until, to me, something was wrong with him psychologically.
    As from 2005 he looked very tired and uninterested all the time. I thought then that he needed to retire or transfer elsewhere for a new challenge but I thought he was too loyal to Milan to put in a transfer request.

  12. The fact that we’re even discussing that Dida was a good goalkeeper and one of the best in the world is just laughable. Sure he made a couple of good saves, but the bad outweighed the good. He made so many mistakes and his positioning sucked. Cudicini, Seba Rossi and abbiati we’re all better goalies.

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