No fuss, no frills and no histrionics, Carlo Ancelotti is football’s Mr Cool... just don’t take him to Bootle Strand!
IT is one of the few occasions Carlo Ancelotti has looked flustered – the day he made a much-anticipated trip to Bootle Strand.
As Everton manager living in the well-heeled area of Formby, he fancied a shopping expedition to nearby Bootle.
A Goodison Park insider revealed: “Carlo thought Bootle Strand would be similar to London’s Strand but got a shock when he discovered it’s been in need of a complete refurb for a number of years. It wasn’t the shopping experience he was hoping for.
“He got mobbed by Everton fans, who could not believe what they were seeing. But he took everything in good heart and was happy to tell the story against himself at the training ground the next day.”
During a stellar career, the Italian has not made many wrong moves, as his trophy-laden CV proves.
And much of the silverware has been collected with the minimum of fuss.
There are no histrionics on the touchline, no playing to the crowd. And, when his time is up at a club, it’s greeted with stoic realism, an acknowledgement that his outstanding managerial record is no protection against being sacked.
And that is even if the axe, that fell a season after delivering the Premier League and FA
Cup Double with Chelsea (right), is swung by the chief executive, ironically in a Goodison Park corridor.
To replace him with the hopelessly under-prepared Andre Villas-Boas was surely owner Roman Abramovich’s worst footballing decision.
But then Real Madrid have not always appreciated the man who will make history if he lands a fourth European Cup. He currently shares the most wins with Bob Paisley and Zinedine Zidane.
Bernabeu president Florentino Perez sacked him a year after winning the Champions League and Ancelotti was fourth choice behind Massimiliano Allegri, Mauricio Pochettino and
Antonio Conte when he was looking for a replacement for Zidane.
There was even talk he would be relieved of his duties this summer, although surely Perez would not have the nerve to axe him for a second time after the
Champions League miracle against
Manchester City in midweek and the club’s latest La Liga title last weekend.
After the 4-0 victory against Espanyol, which saw Real crowned champions of Spain, the 62-year-old allowed himself the luxury of a giant cigar in the company of celebrating players Vinicius Jnr, Eder Militao, David Alaba and Rodrygo.
“If I were a player I would love to play for a coach like him,” is
the endorsement of current Everton coach Paul Clement, who was at Ancelotti’s side at Chelsea, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich. And Clement believes Ancelotti would have been the coolest man in the Bernabeu despite Pep Guardiola’s side appearing to have one foot in the final.
“He would often do the complete opposite to my instincts in games at half-time,” Clement added. “I would have been tempted to have a go at the players if we had been poor and the attitude hadn’t been right.
“But he would stand at the back of the room gathering his thoughts and tapping the tactics board.
“He would say what he wanted to see in the second half. Just staying calm and telling them to go out and do it. It usually worked. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he lost his rag.”
It’s helped him create a legacy of league titles in five countries – England, Spain, Italy, France and Germany – with Chelsea, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.
And later this month he will meet Liverpool in a Champions League final for a third time.
Luka Modric, still an integral part of the Real Madrid side at the age of 36, said: “He helps us to grow and that is down to his demeanour.
“He is one of the greatest managers in football. When he returned to the club it made us all happy.”
Just don’t take him to Bootle Strand!