At the end of May, Zinedine Zidane left Real Madrid. He not only resigned as manager but also slammed the door at the end, publishing an open letter in which he frankly unveiled the harmed relationship with the club’s president, Florentino Perez, and stated that he quitted Real because he was no longer valued at the club.
“I’m leaving, but I’m not abandoning the ship, and I’m not tired of coaching. In May 2018, I left because, after two and a half years of so many victories and trophies, I felt the team needed a new plan to stay at the highest level. Today things are different. I’m leaving because I feel that the club didn’t give me the support I needed, it didn’t offer me the support to construct a project for the medium or long term,” the former manager wrote.
Bets were being taken on the next manager to take over at Real with bookies such as Cyber.bet and although several candidates were considered for the position of head coach: Mauricio Pochettino, Antonio Conte, Massimiliano Allegri, Raul Gonzalez, and Carlo Ancelotti, the president has opted for Ancelotti. Before Zidane’s flush statement, Florentino Perez hoped to lure Pochettino out of PSG. But the French club refused to let the Argentine leave. Also, Real’s president had his eye on Antonio Conte, who had left his role as Inter Milan manager. Allegri was missed out on earlier: he accepted an invitation to a familiar position at Juventus.
Zidane’s open letter turned everything upside down, most candidates began to back out of the talks. In other words, the ex-coach made it difficult for Florentino Perez to negotiate with potential candidates, moreover, the president must have realized that the situation had changed and that the job at the club after Zidane was definitely not for everyone. The complex financial state of the club and the necessary shake-up of a very unbalanced team also complicated the situation. The president had to take a new look at some personnel decisions.
Under such unfavourable circumstances, it was logical to entrust ‘Los Blancos’ to an experienced manager who had already gained vast experience over the years of his career and knew how to build team relationships. That’s why Perez chose a coach and a man he knew well. Even though Ancelotti is a little tired and behind the frenetic pace of modern football, the Italian knows perfectly well how to put the team in shape shortly. He almost always has a gust of the team and wins players’ favour. The Italian prefers not to break what works well and tries to make the most out of the sportsmen’s strengths. That’s exactly what Florentino Perez needs right now, and Carlo must be aware that he is invited to Real Madrid to pull chestnuts out of the fire and cover the president’s back. But this doesn’t scare the coach for obvious reasons: Ancelotti is 61 years old, his career has been steadily going downhill in recent years, and here’s such a great opportunity to rise to a high level again!
“While I have enjoyed being at Everton, I have been presented with an unexpected opportunity which I believe is the right move for me and my family at this time. I would like to thank Everton FC, my players, and the supporters for giving me the opportunity to manage this fantastic and historical club. I decided to leave as I have a new challenge with a team that was always in my heart, Real Madrid,” said Ancelotti.
Carlo Ancelotti is a rare coach that can yield the results straight off the reel, despite all the problems. He won’t necessarily succeed, but he stands a good chance. Ancelotti had already worked with the Madrid team, he was the club’s head coach from 2013 to 2015. During this time, Real won several trophies, including the famous 10th Champions League in Lisbon in 2014 and the Club World Cup. Ancelotti had also led ‘Los Blancos’ to victories at the King’s Cup and the Spanish Super Cup. But during the 2014/15 season, Real performed poorly and didn’t bring any trophy, and Ancelotti was told to leave without working out the rest of the year under his contract.
“I’ve said many times that I want to stay. But if the club says I won’t stay, of course, I won’t be happy. That can happen in football,” Ancelotti said after the last game of that season.
Anyway, many players and staff have kept a good attitude toward Ancelotti. Thus, the coach, who has already brought Real Madrid 89 wins in 119 games (75% of victories — the best result in the club’s history), returns, and he’s supposed to keep the team from falling or, at least, to simply postpone it for a while.
So far, the story seems beautiful, but still, it remains unclear what is in store for Ancelotti and Real Madrid. The coach will get a team that is in the process of rebuilding, already without Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, and Marcelo Vieira. No one knows who, apart from David Alaba, will sign for ‘Los Blancos’. And no one knows whether the Italian will work out his contract, which will be in effect until 2024, but he stays strong and keeps his self-confidence.
“I promise the same as I did last time, which is to play good football. We want to play a more intense, more aggressive, and more organized football. I think football has changed in the past few years. I’m not the same either. I’m a different Carlo Ancelotti. I’ve had new experiences in these years, some positive and some negative ones. But, even the negative experiences help you grow. The history of this club demands spectacular football. I’m going to give all my energy. I have very good memories of the two years I was here and the titles and relationships I had. I think we can repeat something good in this new experience. It’s a big responsibility, but a nice one because you’re coaching the best club in the world. Like in the past, I’ll give my all,” the coach has promised…
