Club career

Ancelotti began his career in 1974 with Parma. In 1979, he transferred to Roma, as captain and midfielder, where he won the Italian championship in 1983, the Coppa Italia four times and helped Roma to reach the European Cup final in 1984, but missed the final through injury. From 1987 until 1992, he played for Milan and was part of the squad that won consecutive European Cups in 1989 and 1990. During this time, Milan played with one of their finest teams ever assembled in that decade, with Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Mauro Tassotti and Alessandro Costacurta as defenders; Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Roberto Donadoni as midfielders; and Marco van Basten upfront. His finest moment with Milan was when he received a pass from Ruud Gullit, dribbled around two Real Madrid players and netted a powerful long-range shot during the Rossoneri's 5-0 thrashing of Real Madrid in the 1989 European Cup semi-finals. He went on to play all 90 minutes in Milan's 4-0 dismantling of Steaua București in the final.

International career

Ancelotti made his Italian national team debut and scored his first and only goal on 6 January 1981 in a one-off tournament against the Netherlands, which ended in a 1-1 draw. He was very likely to be capped for the 1982 World Cup campaign, but a dramatic knee injury forced him away for several months. He later went on to appear in the 1990 World Cup on home soil, where Italy finished in third place, and he was part of Italy's World Cup squad in the 1986 World Cup; where he did not get any appearances. He was also a member of the Italy squad that reached the semi-finals of the 1988 European Championship. Ancelotti made a total of 26 performances, and announced his retirement from international football in 1991.

Style of play

Ancelotti was a cautious, composed, hardworking and creative midfielder who was capable of being deployed in several positions; he was regarded as one of the best Italian midfielders of his generation. Although he lacked notable physical and athletic characteristics, he was competent defensively, and he also possessed excellent technical ability, tactical intelligence, vision and passing range, as well as a powerful and accurate shot. He is regarded as having been the mentor and predecessor of Demetrio Albertini and Andrea Pirlo in the deep-lying playmaking role at Milan.

Managerial career

Early years

A student at Coverciano, where he penned a research article entitled "Il Futuro del Calcio: Più Dinamicità" (English: The Future of Football: More Dynamism), Ancelotti began his managerial career with Reggiana in 1995, where Reggiana achieved promotion to Serie A. He left the following year, however, for Parma, which included future Italy stars Gianluigi Buffon and Fabio Cannavaro. Parma finished second in the 1996-97 season, which guaranteed them a Champions League place. The following season, Ancelotti guided them to a fifth place, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. In 1999, he was appointed Juventus manager, where he both succeeded and preceded Marcello Lippi, who returned to the club when Ancelotti left. Ancelotti's season began promisingly, winning the Intertoto Cup by beating the red light Rennes 4-2 on aggregate. The following season, however, he went trophyless, finishing runner-up in Serie A, and he was sacked by Juventus. Ancelotti's dismissal was announced by Juventus at half-time in the final league game of the season, even though they were still in with a chance of winning the title.

Milan

Ancelotti was appointed Milan manager on 6 November 2001, after Fatih Terim was sacked due to poor results. He was inheriting another recently trophyless team in Milan, as the Rossoneri had floundered domestically and in Europe since their last Scudetto victory in 1999. In his first full season, Ancelotti soon had Milan back in European competition, leading them to the semi-finals of the 2001-02 UEFA Cup.

The following season, Ancelotti, who was heavily criticized by club owner Silvio Berlusconi due to his defensive tactics, was able to adopt a creative play in Milan while making several roster changes. He made Dida, still maligned for his 2000-01 Champions League howler against Leeds United, his new starting goalkeeper barely a month into the 2002-03 season, while converting budding attacking midfielder Andrea Pirlo to a defensive playmaker and playing him behind Rui Costa. At the same time, Filippo Inzaghi and Andriy Shevchenko were dominant and dynamic.

Milan won the 2003 UEFA Champions League Final, beating Juventus 3-2 on penalties at Old Trafford and also won the 2003 Coppa Italia Final. It was a sweet revenge for him as Juventus brutally sacked him and to add insult, Marcello Lippi was re-hired for a second tenure and won back-to-back Serie A titles. The following season, Milan took home the Scudetto in 2004. Under Ancelotti's reign, Milan were also back-to-back Serie A runners-up to Juventus in 2004-05 and 2005-06 (both Scudetti were later wiped from the record books of Juventus due to the club's involvement in the Calciopoli scandal) and lost the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final to Liverpool, losing 2-3 on penalties after a 3-3 draw in normal time, having been 3-0 up at halftime. Two years later, however, Milan avenged their defeat to Liverpool with a 2-1 win at the Olympic Stadium in Athens in the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final, leading to Ancelotti's second Champions League trophy as Milan coach and his fourth title overall, having also won it twice as a Milan player in 1989 and 1990. He also won the FIFA Club World Cup in 2007, the first manager to do so with a European club. Ancelotti announced his resignation from Milan less than an hour following their 2-0 victory over Fiorentina on 31 May 2009.

Chelsea

On 1 June 2009, Ancelotti succeeded interim manager Guus Hiddink when he was confirmed as the new Chelsea manager after agreeing to a three-year contract, and formally assumed his duties on 1 July. His salary at Chelsea was initially reported to be more than £5 million per year. Ancelotti became the club's fourth permanent manager in 21 months, following José Mourinho, Avram Grant and Luiz Felipe Scolari. He was also the third Italian to manage Chelsea, after Gianluca Vialli and Claudio Ranieri.

On 9 August 2009, Ancelotti won his first trophy as Chelsea manager, the Community Shield, beating Manchester United on penalties, following a 2-2 draw. His first Premier League game in charge of the Blues ended in a 2-1 home victory over Hull City on 15 August 2009. Chelsea lost their first match under Ancelotti at the DW Stadium away to Wigan Athletic on 26 September, losing 1-3. They were eliminated from the League Cup on 2 December, reaching the quarter-finals stage, after a penalty shootout defeat to Blackburn Rovers after a 3-3 draw at Ewood Park.

In the Champions League, Ancelotti returned to the San Siro for the first time since his departure from Milan, when his team faced Internazionale, who was at the time coached by ex-Chelsea manager José Mourinho, at the Round of 16 stage. Ancelotti and Mourinho had a tense relationship from the previous season, as managers of Milan and Inter, respectively. Chelsea was eliminated from the Champions League on 16 March 2010 after a 1-3 aggregate loss to Inter, having lost 1-2 away and 0-1 at Stamford Bridge.

On 9 May 2010, Ancelotti led Chelsea to the Premier League title, beating Manchester United by one point and setting scoring records. The team finished the campaign with 103 goals, becoming the first team in the Premier League to score more than 100 goals in a season, and the first since Tottenham Hotspur in the 1962-63 season. Chelsea secured the title with an 8-0 victory over Wigan at Stamford Bridge. Ancelotti also became the first Italian manager to win the Premier League and only the fifth manager overall in the league's 18 seasons. On 15 May 2010, Ancelotti led Chelsea to victory in the 2009-10 FA Cup, beating Portsmouth 1-0 in the final at Wembley; Chelsea's third victory in the FA Cup in four years, equaling a record set by Arsenal between 2002 and 2005. The Cup win secured Chelsea's first ever domestic double.

The following season, after having lost to Manchester United in the 2010 FA Community Shield in August, Ancelotti led Chelsea to the top of the table on the first weekend of the season thanks to a 6-0 rout of newly promoted West Bromwich Albion. Chelsea followed up this result with another 6-0 win, this time over Wigan, whilst Stoke City were beaten 2-0 in the next match. Chelsea had a good start to the season, winning their first five matches. Chelsea then lost 3-4 against Newcastle United on 23 September 2010 in the League Cup. They then went on to lose against Manchester City in the Premier League 0-1 after a cleverly-taken strike by City captain Carlos Tevez. Chelsea made a good start in Europe by beating Žilina and Marseille 4-1 and 2-0, respectively, in the 2010-11 UEFA Champions League. Chelsea then defeated fourth-placed Arsenal 2-0 on 3 October 2010, courtesy of a goal from Didier Drogba and a free-kick by defender Alex.

Chelsea's next defeat of the season came against Liverpool at Anfield on 7 November 2010, where they lost 0-2 with both goals coming from Fernando Torres. A week later, Chelsea suffered their second Premier League defeat in three matches with a remarkable 0-3 home defeat to Sunderland. In their following five league games, they lost two and drew three games, culminating in a 1-3 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. On 5 January 2011, Chelsea suffered a shock 0-1 defeat at struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers, leaving them fifth in the League and in real danger of missing out on a Champions League place for the first time since 2002. This result led to Ancelotti ruling out Chelsea's chances of retaining the title, insisting that he did not fear that he would be sacked. But after this match, however, Chelsea's form began to improve. First with a 7-0 thrashing of Ipswich Town in the FA Cup at Stamford Bridge and then a 2-0 victory over Blackburn, followed by emphatic away wins against Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland, putting them in fourth position in the league, though still ten points behind leaders Manchester United.

On 31 January 2011, Chelsea signed Liverpool striker Fernando Torres for a British record £50 million and Benfica defender David Luiz for £22 million. Chelsea lost 0-1 to Liverpool at Stamford Bridge but beat league leaders Manchester United on 1 March in a 2-1 comeback win that saw David Luiz net his first goal for Chelsea, which was followed by a 3-1 win away to Blackpool. Chelsea were later defeated by Manchester United at home and away (aggregate of 1-3) in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Following their defeat in the Champions League, Chelsea made a remarkable comeback in the league, defeating Wigan 1-0 at home, West Brom 3-1 away, Birmingham City 3-1, West Ham United 3-0 and Tottenham 2-1 at home. Chelsea, who at some point were fifth and 15 points behind leaders Manchester United, vaulted into the second position the league, just three points behind them with three games left of the season.

On 8 May, however, Chelsea lost 1-2 against Manchester United at Old Trafford to stay second in the league, now six points behind the leaders with just two more games to play.

Ancelotti was sacked less than two hours after a 0-1 away defeat against Everton on 22 May, the last match of the season. He was earning £6.5 million per year at Chelsea just before his departure from the club. He reportedly received a severance payment of £6 million from Chelsea.

Ancelotti's win percentage at Chelsea is the third-highest in Premier League history, behind only José Mourinho and Alex Ferguson.

Paris Saint-Germain

On 30 December 2011, with Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the Ligue 1 with three points down to Montpellier, Ancelotti was appointed as the new manager of the club on the same day as their previous manager, Antoine Kombouaré, was released from his contract. His salary at PSG was reported to be €6 million per year. On 21 March 2012, Ancelotti experienced his first defeat in charge of PSG as the club fell to a 1-3 defeat at the hands of Lyon in a Coupe de France quarter-final match. Ten days later, PSG suffered their first Ligue 1 defeat under Ancelotti when they lost 1-2 away to Nancy. PSG ended up as runners-up in Ligue 1 in Ancelotti's first season in charge three points behind winners Montpellier.

During Ancelotti's first full season at the club, PSG entered the winter break at the top of the Ligue 1 table ahead of Lyon and Marseille on goal difference. They clinched the Ligue 1 title on 12 May 2013 with two matches to spare. The club also reached the quarter-final of the Champions League, where they lost to Barcelona on the away goals rule (3-3 on aggregate). On 19 May 2013, Ancelotti asked to leave the club, then joined Real Madrid.

Real Madrid

On 25 June 2013, Ancelotti became the manager of Real Madrid as the replacement for the departing José Mourinho, signing a three-year deal. He was introduced at a press conference at the Santiago Bernabéu, where it was also announced that Zinedine Zidane and Paul Clement would be his assistant coaches. Shortly following his arrival, Real Madrid confirmed the signing of Isco for a fee of €24 million which was followed by the signing of Asier Illarramendi for €32 million. Argentinean striker Gonzalo Higuaín left the club for €40 million to Napoli. This, along with the sale of Mesut Özil to Arsenal, paved way for new world record signing Gareth Bale £86 million (105 million euros). In Ancelotti's first league game in charge, on 18 August 2013, Real Madrid won 2-1 at home against Real Betis. On 16 April 2014, Ancelotti won his first major trophy as Real Madrid manager after they defeated Barcelona 2-1 in the Copa del Rey final held at the Mestalla Stadium. On 29 April, Real Madrid defeated Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the Champions League by an aggregate score of 5-0 (1-0 in Madrid and 0-4 in Munich), with Los Blancos reaching their first final since they last won the competition in 2002. On 24 May, Real Madrid won their tenth Champions League trophy after defeating Atlético Madrid in the final 4-1 in extra time. He became only the second manager after Liverpool's Bob Paisley to win the competition on three occasions and the first man to win the Champions League/European Cup twice as a player and three times as a manager to this day.

On 12 August, Ancelotti's team won another European trophy, leading Real Madrid to a 2-0 victory over Sevilla in the 2014 UEFA Super Cup. In the last four months of 2014, his team set a Spanish record of 22 consecutive match victories in all competitions that began on 16 September and culminated with Real Madrid's first FIFA Club World Cup title in December 2014, finishing the year 2014 with four trophies. By securing only a third-place finish for the 2013-14 La Liga season, he became the first Real Madrid manager to finish outside the top two of La Liga since the 2003-04 season, and also the first Real Madrid manager to finish behind city rivals Atlético since the 1995-96 season. On 1 December 2014, Ancelotti was nominated as one of the three finalists for the 2014 FIFA World Coach of the Year Award. On 19 January 2015, Ancelotti was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame and on 20 January 2015, he won the IFFHS 2014 Award as The World's Best Club Coach. On 25 May 2015, Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez announced that the club's board had taken "a very difficult decision" to relieve Ancelotti of his duties with immediate effect. Pérez stated that Ancelotti had won the hearts of both the board and fans, and would always have a place in the club's history because he was the coach that led them to the Décima. "However at this club the demands are huge and we need a new impulse in order to win trophies and be at our best," he added.

After leaving Madrid, Ancelotti held talks about a return to Milan, which he rejected, saying, "It was hard to say no to such a beloved club to me, but I need some rest. I wish them the best." He stated that he wanted to take a year off and undergo an operation for his spinal stenosis. He later relocated to Vancouver, Canada, where he currently resides.

Bayern Munich

On 20 December 2015, Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed that Ancelotti would replace Pep Guardiola as manager for the 2016-17 season, signing a three-year contract.

Personal life

Ancelotti has two children: a daughter, Katia; and a son, Davide, who also played in the Milan youth team and later joined Borgomanero in June 2008. In 2008, Ancelotti confirmed in an interview that he had broken up with his wife of 25 years, Luisa Gibellini. Then he dated Marina Cretu. In 2011, it was announced he was dating Canadian businesswoman Mariann Barrena McClay. Ancelotti and Barrena McClay were married in Vancouver in July 2014.

In May 2009, Ancelotti's autobiography, Preferisco la Coppa ("I Prefer the Cup", with a word-play by Ancelotti on the Italian word "coppa" that stands both for "cup" and a type of cured cold pork meat cut, which is produced in Ancelotti's native region of Emilia-Romagna), was published, with all proceeds from sales of the book going to the Fondazione Stefano Borgonovo for the funding of research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

In his last season with Chelsea, Ancelotti had to travel back to Italy on a regular basis to visit his 87-year-old father who was in poor health with diabetes and other issues. On the issue, he said, "I don't have a problem managing the team for this reason. It's difficult, emotionally, when it's your father... but this is life. I have to do my best to stay close to him, but this is the life." His father died on 29 September 2010, aged 87.

Honours

Player

Roma

• Serie A: 1982-83
• Coppa Italia: 1979-80, 1980-81, 1983-84, 1985-86

Milan

• European Cup: 1988-89, 1989-90
• UEFA Super Cup: 1989, 1990
• Serie A: 1987-88, 1991-92
• Supercoppa Italiana: 1988
• Intercontinental Cup: 1989, 1990

International

• FIFA World Cup Bronze Medal: 1990

Manager

Juventus (1999-2001)

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1999

Milan (2001-2009)

• UEFA Champions League: 2002-03, 2006-07
• UEFA Super Cup: 2003, 2007
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2007
• Serie A: 2003-04
• Coppa Italia: 2002-03
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2004

Chelsea (2009-2011)

• Premier League: 2009-10
• FA Cup: 2009-10
• FA Community Shield: 2009

Paris Saint-Germain (2011-2013)

• Ligue 1: 2012-13

Real Madrid (2013-2015)

• UEFA Champions League: 2013-14
• UEFA Super Cup: 2014
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2014
• Copa del Rey: 2013-14

Individual

• Serie A Coach of the Year: 2001, 2004
• Panchina d'Oro: 2002-03, 2003-04
• Ligue 1 Manager of the Year: 2012-13
• IFFHS World's Best Club Coach: 2007, 2014
• World Soccer Magazine Manager of the Year: 2003
• Globe Soccer Awards Best Coach of the Year: 2014
• Enzo Bearzot Award: 2014
• FIFA World Coach of the Year (Runner-up): 2014

Orders

5th Class/Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 1991

5th Class/Officer: Ufficiale dell'Ordine della Stella d'Italia: 2014

Statistics

Player

Season	Club	Division	League		Cup		Continental		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		Europe		Other		Total
1976-77	Parma	Serie C	1	0	-		-		-		1	0
1977-78			21	8	-		-		-		21	9
1978-79		Serie C1	33	5	-		-		-		33	5
1979-80	Roma	Serie A	27	3	9	0	-		-		36	3
1980-81			29	2	6	2	2	1	-		37	5
1981-82			5	0	0	0	3	1	-		8	1
1982-83			23	2	3	0	6	0	-		32	2
1983-84			9	0	5	0	4	0	-		18	0
1984-85			22	3	2	0	3	0	-		27	3
1985-86			29	0	4	0	-		-		33	0
1986-87			27	2	7	1	2	0	-		36	3
1987-88	Milan	Serie A	27	2	7	0	4	0	-		38	2
1988-89			28	2	2	0	7	1	1	0	38	3
1989-90			24	3	4	0	6	0	1	0	35	3
1990-91			21	1	4	0	4	0	2	0	31	1
1991-92			12	2	6	0	-		-		18	2
Total	Parma		55	13	—		—		—		55	13
	Roma		171	12	36	3	20	2	—		227	17
	Milan		112	10	23	0	21	1	4	0	160	11
Career total			338	35	59	3	41	3	4	0	442	41

International

Italy national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1981	4	1
1982	0	0
1983	4	0
1984	0	0
1986	5	0
1987	3	0
1988	5	0
1989	0	0
1990	4	0
1991	1	0
Total	26	1

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	6 January 1981	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Netherlands	1-0	1-1	1980 Mundialito

Manager

As of 25 May 2015

Team	From	To	Record
			G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Reggiana	1 August 1995	31 May 1996	7001410000000000000♠41	7001170000000000000♠17	7001140000000000000♠14	7001100000000000000♠10	7001450000000000000♠45	7001360000000000000♠36	+9	7001414600000000000♠41.46
Parma	1 August 1996	31 May 1998	7001870000000000000♠87	7001420000000000000♠42	7001270000000000000♠27	7001180000000000000♠18	7002124000000000000♠124	7001850000000000000♠85	+39	7001482800000000000♠48.28
Juventus	9 February 1999	31 May 2001	7002114000000000000♠114	7001630000000000000♠63	7001330000000000000♠33	7001180000000000000♠18	7002185000000000000♠185	7002101000000000000♠101	+84	7001552600000000000♠55.26
Milan	6 November 2001	31 May 2009	7002423000000000000♠423	7002238000000000000♠238	7002101000000000000♠101	7001840000000000000♠84	7002690000000000000♠690	7002357000000000000♠357	+333	7001562600000000000♠56.26
Chelsea	1 July 2009	22 May 2011	7002109000000000000♠109	7001670000000000000♠67	7001200000000000000♠20	7001220000000000000♠22	7002241000000000000♠241	7001940000000000000♠94	+147	7001614700000000000♠61.47
Paris Saint-Germain	30 December 2011	25 June 2013	7001770000000000000♠77	7001490000000000000♠49	7001190000000000000♠19	7000900000000000000♠9	7002153000000000000♠153	7001640000000000000♠64	+89	7001636400000000000♠63.64
Real Madrid	25 June 2013	25 May 2015	7002119000000000000♠119	7001890000000000000♠89	7001140000000000000♠14	7001160000000000000♠16	7002323000000000000♠323	7002103000000000000♠103	+220	7001747900000000000♠74.79
Career totals			7002970000000000000♠970	7002565000000000000♠565	7002228000000000000♠228	7002177000000000000♠177	7003176100000000000♠1,761	7002840000000000000♠840	+921	7001582500000000000♠58.25

[ Source: Wikipedia ]