Carlo Ancelotti: The new Chelsea Manager

The Italian connection is back. Carlo Ancelotti is our new manager. This does not come as a surprise. Rumours around his taking over Chelsea have been going around for some months now.

The topic of Ancelotti managing Chelsea has never been a cheerful topic among the Chelsea fans. He does not quite divide the house but it’s fair to say that he does not seem to have a huge fan following among the Chelsea fans. I’ve always seen Chelsea fans either hating the sight of him as the Chelsea manager or simply hoping that he comes good.

His appointment has caused mixed reactions. I’m a bit indifferent at the moment. I belong to the "I hope he comes good" category. He has the pedigree. He has the track record. He has the personality. Still, there is something about him that does not make me gung-ho.

To be honest, that’s how even Guus Hiddink appeared initially and now I love him so much. All that I want Ancelotti to do is to keep the pride of Chelsea while trying to win the trophies.

In two seasons, we have seen Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti. Certainly not anyone’s idea of stability. When Scolari was brought in, there was a lot of club talk about stability and time, but when the shit hit the fan, Roman called the bluff.

Ancelotti should clearly know what’s expected of him. We might say that stability is the need of the hour; the players might want a long-term manager and the club’s image would also need the manager to see out his contract, but, if the results are not there, you’re out. As simple as that. Remember, it’s again a three-year contract!

If you look at his CV, it’s hard not to raise certain questions. In his seasons at Milan, he has won the Serie A only once! That’s the only league title he has won in all of his 14 years of coaching. But what must have impressed Roman is that he has won the champions league twice during this period.

I’ve told you many times that if you’re going to offer me champions league and premier league, I’d happily take the latter. The club seems to get obsessive about the champions league. That’s the only way to explain this appointment.

See, Ancelotti’s career as a player and manager has all been in Italy only. He has managed Milan in Italy for eight years and has won one Serie A title! I’d even call that poor. But he is in special company with two champions league titles.

I have some really unpleasant memories of Ancelotti. First, his champions league final defeat to Liverpool. That was simply unbelievable and unpardonable. And then, his Milan team succumbing to the Arsenal team in the champions league couple of seasons back. There were some great matches too. Especially the way Milan despatched Man Utd in the champions league semi final was a treat to watch.

In Milan, he has certainly drawn a lot of criticism for his tactics. He is known for his obsession for the 4-3-2-1 (christmas tree formation) which made the team more defensive and less adventurous. Would he continue with Chelsea’s successful 4-3-3?

I’d feel more confident if Ancelotti could bring in a few exciting names to Chelsea. I see rumours on Ribery, Kaka and the like. I’d love to see Ribery play for us. Imagine Ribery and Joe Cole playing in the left and right respectively! It would be great, isn’t it? As I know a thing or two about rumours, I won’t build up my hopes.

Whatever said and done, Essien is not leaving anywhere. He is a Chelsea player, he would remain to be so. Like with any new Chelsea manager, the least he could do is to cause a mess by distorting rather than improving what’s already working well. I’ll wait for Carlo to settle down, use the three months of transfer window wisely and start the campaign strongly.

We always wanted a manager who can speak English. When Hiddink joined, I was pleasantly surprised by his command of the language. Ancelotti is still learning to speak English. Not sure if he was inspired by Jose Mourinho’s interview in Italian on his day one, Carlo has given his first interview in English in the club website.

He does not sound like a great media communicator, at least in English. But his interview has some key points which I want to mention here:

Tell us about your approach to management, your philosophy?

It’s not easy to speak about my philosophy even in Italian so it’s more difficult to speak in English, but I try. I like to be close with the players, close with the company. I like to speak with the people. I believe in teamwork. It’s the most important thing to create a group that work together to build a dream.

For me this is the most important thing. The players and the company to have a strong organisation, very strong discipline, to have the right motivation. I hope to do this together because this is the right way to arrive to success.

And in terms of football on the field, are you a coach that has a system you take with you wherever, Reggiana, Parma, Juve, Milan—do you take that system, do you play a certain way in tactics and formations?

I change it, not every year, but I change it depending on the characteristic of the players, it depends. For example in Juventus there was Zidane, he was an offensive midfielder and I built the team for Zidane. First you have to know the characteristics of the players and after you can put a system for the players.

So to you personally, what qualities do you think you will bring to Chelsea football club as a coach?

I want to bring my experience, I want to bring my individual quality. I think to win is important. I think to work together is the most important thing to win. To have great motivation and have a right objective.

But in Chelsea it’s easy to find objectives. Win the Champions League, win the Premier League, win FA Cup, win Carling Cup. To win all is naturally not easy, but the right way is to create a group of people that work well together.

These responses speak a lot about himself, his methods, and his idea of the job at hand. Sounds promising!

We are back to the business of "giving time" to our new coach. As much as I want to give him time, he must know that his official match would be against the defending champions Manchester United. Would be great if he starts off by beating the title holders.

That shows how much time he has. Let’s cut the crap. You don’t get settling time at this level. Just start delivering already.

Anyway, let’s all very warmly welcome Carlo Ancelotti! May his season be filled with trophies!