Carlo Ancelotti only has one thing planned for his first summer break as Bayern coach: “I’ll sleep for a week!” The 57-year-old has had a stressful season with a total of 50 matches, but he is positive in his summary of his debut campaign.
“It was a good season, we’re happy, ” Ancelotti summarised. “Unfortunately we had problems with Lewandowski and Hummels at a key moment. We had some bad luck there,” the head coach continued. All in all, the Italian looks back on his first 12 months in charge with positive memories. The Bundesliga in particular impressed the title-winning coach because this competition was new territory for the experienced tactician.
Excited by the Bundesliga
“The stadiums are all full and always have a great atmosphere. I really great atmosphere,” praised Ancelotti, who also compared the league to others he has coached in. “There’s real intensity to the play here. The defensive organisation is very good and the teams are especially advanced in terms of tactics. It was a great experience for me to learn this new culture.”
At the end of his first campaign in Germany, he quickly won the Bundesliga title and Supercup. It was just the cup competitions where things didn’t go according to plan. That means there’s just one plan for the new season: “We want to improve next season, but it’s tough to control those little details.”
Resting for the upcoming tasks
Mr. Ancelotti will be enjoying his well-deserved holiday away in western Canada. “I’ll fly to Vancouver and spend the next month there.” However, he doesn’t have any particular plans for his stay in North America, but “sleeping is the most important thing.”
Ancelotti wants to relax before returning to Munich – his new home where he already feels just as good as in his holiday home. “Munich is a really lovely city to live in. It’s like Vancouver for me. My family and I are really happy here.” But Ancelotti finds little time to sleep in the Bavarian capital, and it all starts again come 1 July as he sets about preparing for the new season.