I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

Ancelotti can manage the Prime Minister, so there’s no reason he can’t handle other club owners.

After coaching Milan, Ancelotti’s coaching philosophy began to shift from Sacchiism to Lidholmism.

Lidholm was Ancelotti’s coach and mentor during his playing days in Rome. Ancelotti said, I’ve learned a lot from Lidholm, he’s, and still is, my most important role model in football.

When Lidholm was coaching Rome, fans exposed players Conti and Nela for partying late and demanded the coach fine them. Lidholm said, "Fine them? Just because I allowed them to come back at 2, and they came back an hour earlier, so we fine them?"

When Ancelotti was coaching Milan, the media criticized Ronaldinho for partying until 4 AM. Ancelotti replied, "Oh, it seems he’s not happy enough, going home at 4. I gave him until 5."

Lidholm promoted Ancelotti to the first team for a rather odd reason. "After observing him, I was unsure. Visiting his home, seeing him so obedient to his grandma, I immediately decided to recruit him."

Ancelotti has a keen eye on his players, a reflection of his mentor. Chelsea center-back Terry recalls, sometimes Ancelotti would suddenly ask, how’s your dad? I heard he’s not doing well lately. Terry said, damn, how does he know that? But Terry admits, the reason Ancelotti knows these things is that he truly cares about his players, and he takes the time to pay attention. Terry said, "To me, he’s unique."

While coaching Paris Saint-Germain, once, when seven or eight players were dining at an Italian restaurant, someone suggested calling Ancelotti. People started betting, saying the coach wouldn’t answer, or that he wouldn’t want players out so late. But 10 minutes later, Ancelotti joined the gathering, had a drink, chatted, joked with the players, and left an hour later.

When Ancelotti left Paris, Eevee called to persuade him to stay, Ancelotti insisted on leaving, finally saying, "From now on, don’t call me coach, or Mr., just call me by my name, because I consider you a friend. If you call me Mr., you’ll offend me." Eevee said, no other coach had a relationship like they had with him.

Ancelotti is not a man without principles; his principle is "train well."

In his first year coaching Chelsea, before a match against Villa, during a pre-game meeting, Drogba was 30 minutes late. Ancelotti did not let him play because the meeting was about tactical arrangements for the match, and no one can skip it.

Chelsea won 7-1. In the following match, Drogba continued on the bench because Anelka played so well in the last game. But after coming on as a substitute, Drogba scored a goal.

Ancelotti said, there’s no rift between us because Drogba gave the best response to being left out of the starting lineup.

Ancelotti said, the only thing that truly makes him angry is the team’s poor attitude. "You can’t always control the result, but you can control your attitude."

The night in Istanbul, Ancelotti and his Milan became the biggest losers of that night.

Talking about Ancelotti, one cannot avoid the night in Istanbul in 2005. It was the most classic Champions League final, and Ancelotti and his Milan were the supporting roles. However, when Ancelotti looked back on that defeat, he showed his usual calmness and gentleness:

"On the night in Istanbul, it was wrong to get angry because the team’s attitude was perfect, and that match we played, was of the highest quality in any final I’ve coached. It is the best example of how a coach can control almost every aspect of a match—strategy, tactics, motivation, the opponent—the only thing you can’t control is the final score."

Ancelotti, "Quiet Leadership"

Becoming the first coach in history to win championships in all five major leagues, the first to reach the Champions League final five times, Ancelotti’s methodology is written in the pages of his autobiography, "Quiet Leadership".

It was co-authored with Chris Brady and Mike Ford.

Ancelotti considers interpersonal relationships as central to everything. He wrote in the book: you won’t see a Chapter on "interpersonal relationships" because as a leader, everything I do is based on relationships, and it manifests on every page: relationships with superiors, with my support team, and most importantly, with players.

Ancelotti said, in my work, there are three things I cannot control, the chairman, the fans, and the media. I’ve learned not to worry too much about them. What’s the priority? I focus on what I can control, which is my relationship with the players.

Character is just the surface. Behind it is Ancelotti’s adaptability, modulation skills, and ability to keep up with the times.

From 442 to 3412, to the Christmas tree, to Chelsea’s 433, and now with his second stint at Real Madrid, rejuvenating Benzema, activating Vinicius, only he has managed to do so.

There’s even media lamenting his work at Real Madrid, "No one can imagine how much energy and stamina it takes to manage Real Madrid."

And now, after exiting front-line club management, he’s come to coach the national team of China, where he also reunites with a familiar player, Chen Zhong.

Undoubtedly, they will create new glories in the national team once again.

And he can manage the relationships with players well.