Carlo Ancelotti (born 10 June 1959) is a former footballer who played for the Italy national football team, and is current manager of Chelsea. 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. He was capped 26 times and scored one goal for the Italian national team and appeared at the 1986 and 1990 World Cups.
Carlo Ancelotti Biography - Early Managerial Career
Carlo Ancelotti was a student at Coverciano, where he penned a research article entitled "Il Futuro del Calcio: Più Dinamicità" (English: The Future of Football: More Dynamic)
Carlo Ancelotti Biography - Reggiana
Ancelotti began his managerial career with Reggiana in 1995, where Reggiana achieved promotion to Serie A. However, he left the following year for Parma.
Carlo Ancelotti Biography - Parma
In 1996, Ancelotti was appointed manager of Parma, which included Gianluigi Buffon and Fabio Cannavaro. Parma finished 2nd in the 1996–97 season, which guaranteed them a Champions League place. The following season, Ancelotti guided them to a fifth place, qualifying for the UEFA Cup.
Carlo Ancelotti Biography - Juventus
In 1998, he was appointed Juventus manager, where he both succeeded and preceded Marcello Lippi, who returned to the club when Ancelotti left. Ancelotti's season began promisingly, winning the Intertoto Cup by beating Rennes 4–2 on aggregate. However, the following season, he went trophyless, finishing runner-up twice in Serie A.
Carlo Ancelotti Biography - Milan
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.
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.
Under Ancelotti's reign, Milan were also back-to-back Serie A runners-up to Juventus in 2004–05 and 2005–06 (both Scudetti were later wiped from the record books due to Juventus' involvement in the Calciopoli scandal), and lost the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final to Liverpool losing 3–2 on penalties after leading 3–0 at halftime. Two years later, though, Milan avenged their defeat to Liverpool with a 2–1 win at the Olympic Stadium in Athens on 23 May 2007, leading to Ancelotti's second Champions League trophy as Milan coach and his fourth title overall, having also won it twice as a Milan player in 1989 and 1990. Ancelotti announced his resignation from Milan less than an hour following their 2–0 victory over Fiorentina on 31 May 2009, after the club terminated his contract by mutual consent with one year remaining.
Carlo Ancelotti Biography - Chelsea
Carlo Ancelotti celebrates Chelsea's first League and Cup Double with team captain John Terry
He was confirmed as the new Chelsea manager after agreeing to a three-year contract worth £9 million. Ancelotti, succeeding temporary replacement Guus Hiddink, became the club's fourth permanent manager in 21 months, following José Mourinho, Avram Grant, and Luiz Felipe Scolari. He is 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 9 May 2010, Ancelotti led Chelsea to win the Premier League title, beating Manchester United by one point and setting scoring records. The team finished the campaign with 103 goals, becoming the first team to score more than 100 goals in the top flight of English football since Tottenham Hotspur in the 1962–63 First Division season (Tottenham finished second). Chelsea secured the title with a 8–0 victory over Wigan Athletic at Stamford Bridge. Ancelotti also became the first Italian manager to win Premier League; and only the fifth manager overall in the league's eighteen seasons.
On 15 May 2010, Ancelotti led Chelsea to win the 2009–10 FA Cup, beating Portsmouth 1–0 in the final at Wembley. This was the third time Chelsea had won the FA Cup in four years, equalling the record set by Arsenal between 2002 and 2005. This also accomplished the club's first ever domestic double within the one season.
Though having lost to Manchester United in the Community Shield in August, Ancelotti led Chelsea to the top of the table on the first weekend of the new Premier League season thanks to a 6–0 rout of newly-promoted West Brom. Chelsea followed this result with another 6–0 win, this time over Wigan, whilst Stoke were beaten 2–0. Chelsea had a good start to the season, winning the first five matches. However, his success was easily forgotten, as he failed a second time in the League Cup, losing 4–3 to Newcastle United on 23 September 2010. He then went on to lose against Manchester City in the Premier League, on a 1–0 loss due to a cleverly taken strike by City skipper Carlos Tevez. He made a good start in Europe by beating Marseille and MSK Zilina 2–0 and 4–1 respectively. After a disappointment at the City of Manchester Stadium, Chelsea beat 4th placed Arsenal 2–0, thanks to a goal from Didier Drogba and a free-kick by defender Alex.
His next defeat of the season came against Liverpool at Anfield where they lost 2–0. A week later, Chelsea suffered their second Premier League defeat in three matches with a remarkable 3–0 home defeat to Sunderland.
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.
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.
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.
