No other German city is home to as many Italians (around 28,000) as Munich. The Azzurri community will welcome a new famous member on Monday when Carlo Ancelotti takes up the role of head coach at FC Bayern. fcbayern.de introduces the 57-year-old in a two-part series.
Part 1: The player and coach
The player:
Ancelotti was rated as one of the best players in his position. He was valued highly by all his coaches as a creative strategist and team player in defensive midfield. He began his professional career with AC Parma in Italy’s third tier in 1976. After promotion to Serie B he signed for top flight club AS Roma (1979-87) where he won, as captain from 1984, his first league title plus three Italian Cups. The high point of his playing career came in 1987 at AC Milan. As part of the so-called Invincibles (Gli Immortali with players like Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten, Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini) his successes included two European Cup triumphs in succession (1989, 1990). Carlo hung up his boots in 1992 due to persistent knee problems. He earned 26 caps for Italy and played in two World Cups (1986, 1990) and one European Championship (1988).
The coach:
Ancelotti played under the coaching legend Arrigo Sacchi at Milan and started his managerial career under the same man. Between 1992 and 1995 he was assistant coach to the Italian tactical genius with the Squadra Azzurra. Ancelotti finally launched his career as a head coach in 1995 at second division AC Reggiana - and secured promotion in his first season.
Via AC Parma (1996-98) and Juventus (1999–2001) he returned to his former club AC Milan where he enjoyed his longest and most successful period in the dugout (2001-09). He won the Champions League twice (2003, 2007), the Italian league title (2004) and the Cup (2003).
At his next clubs (Chelsea 2009-11, Paris Saint-Germain 2012/13) Ancelotti clocked up more domestic titles before winning the Champions League again with Real Madrid (2013-15). He took a sabbatical after that.
His honours:
Ancelotti is one of the most successful coaches in the footballing world. He is the only coach to lift the Champions League trophy three times. He is one of just five managers to win Europe’s elite club competition with different clubs (along with Ottmar Hitzfeld, Jupp Heynckes, Jose Mourinho and Ernst Happel). He is also a member of the footballing elite (with Pep Guardiola, Miguel Munoz, Giovanni Trapattoni, Johan Cruyff and Frank Rijkaard) who have won the Champions League or European Cup both as a player and as a coach.
His FCB record:
The paths of Carlo Ancelotti and FC Bayern have crossed several times in recent years. As a player, the former AS Roma captain only met Germany’s record champions once. In March 1985 he came off worst: The quarter-final stage of the European Cup Winners’ Cup marked the end of the road after two defeats (0-2 in Munich, 1-2 in Rome).
Ancelotti’s record against Bayern as a coach is completely different: In eight games he recorded four wins and two defeats with AC Milan and was unbeaten with Real Madrid picking up two victories. He succeeded in knocking Bayern out of the competition three times. The most recent was in the semi-finals in 2013/14 with Real securing a 1-0 win in the first leg followed by a 4-0 victory in the second leg in Munich.
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