Carlo Ancelotti Is Still the Right Man for Real Madrid, Not to Blame for Slump
Carlo Ancelotti has heard it all before. The criticism of his management style is nothing new, not after high-profile stops at Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain prior to arriving at Real Madrid.
Invariably, when they've come, the critical evaluations of Ancelotti have had a narrow focus: He becomes too chummy with his players, he allows stars to run the dressing room and he doesn't rule with an iron fist.
Indeed, when results aren't favourable, his regularly cited qualities are often flipped around and characterised as weaknesses—his diplomacy becomes a soft touch; his jovial demeanour becomes a weak hand.
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But Ancelotti has a knack for nicely timed responses.
"This soft touch, as everyone calls it, has allowed me to win three Champions Leagues," the Real Madrid manager reminded reporters last week, per the club's official website, when questioned on his management style.
If the news conference had instead been a debate, it would have been game, set and match right there. Yet the waiting media shouldn't have been the only ones listening; both Ancelotti's club and his president should have been taking notice, too.
This week, Sky Sports' Guillem Balague reported that Real Madrid are "seriously considering" sacking Ancelotti amid the club's poor start to 2015. Eurosport's Tom Adams also made reference to the mounting pressure on the Italian, remarking that Real's current form "could prove fatal" for the coach.
If club president Florentino Perez is considering his options, it wouldn't be at all surprising. Perez is an impulsive administrator, a construction magnate who, despite his business savvy, has repeatedly shown his limitations in a purely footballing sense.
Perez craves dominance financially. He also craves dominance on the pitch. But it seems he still hasn't grasped that one doesn't guarantee the other. If he did, Ancelotti's job wouldn't be in question.
Instead, the Italian reportedly finds himself under fire less than a year after guiding Real Madrid to La Decima, less than three months after his team's 22-game winning streak culminated in the Club World Cup title and just 78 days, or less than 2,000 hours, after Perez had said, per Marca: "We want Carlo to be Real Madrid's [Sir Alex] Ferguson."
Impulsiveness? That's it right there.
But, of course, losses aren't tolerated at the Santiago Bernabeu, neither by those in charge or by those who watch—no matter what they might say publicly. And after Saturday's defeat to Athletic Bilbao, the reaction was both swift and severe.
"Bled white," shouted Marca. Among other headlines were: "San Ma-mess," "Athletic take BBC off the air" and "Ronaldo freefalling."
And then the harshest one: "'Annus horribilis' for Real Madrid."
Ever since, it's Ancelotti who's been the target of criticism, specifically for his insistence that the out-of-form trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema will always start.
As reported by ESPN FC, 32 percent of respondents to a poll from AS want to see Ronaldo dropped, 46 percent want it to be Bale, and in another poll, 90 percent want to see the team's system changed to a 4-4-2 at the expense of one of the forwards.
Ancelotti's response? "As long as they [Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema] are fit, their presence is non-negotiable," per Goal.
It prompted AS editor Alfredo Relano to remark: "From the 'Galacticos' to the 'Untouchables'."
And yet, is such a situation really Ancelotti's fault? Is the current slump really his doing? Has he not achieved enough in his position?
When the Italian arrived at the Bernabeu, he was essentially charged with three tasks: to bring harmony to a fractured squad, to integrate the club's marquee signings and to deliver something Jose Mourinho couldn't, the European title.
He did all three.
But more important than just the fact that he did is how.
Upon arrival, Ancelotti was handed a squad that had played largely in a 4-2-3-1 formation but then saw his No. 10 (Mesut Ozil) sold to make room for Bale, which in turn forced another star (Angel Di Maria) completely out of position.
With a minimum of fuss, Ancelotti tweaked his lineup, created a dynamic 4-3-3 and helped propel Di Maria to his best season in the capital.
At any other club, the same recipe would have been trusted for the following campaign. But not under Perez—to satisfy a thirst for notoriety and financial dominance, Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez came in at the expense of Di Maria and Xabi Alonso.
Again, Ancelotti had to re-work the whole system.
And again, he did. Two more titles and 22 straight wins followed.
The point here is that Ancelotti has twice masterfully reacted to Perez's money-fuelled manipulations of the squad; each time the president has interfered, Ancelotti has conjured an answer.
What's more, he's done so by ensuring the system caters for Perez's most prized assets—essentially an implied demand of a manager at Real Madrid. (What do you think would happen if he benched the president's €240 million forward line?)
But in doing so, the Italian has had to craft an outfit very much akin to a thoroughbred: In optimal condition, it's devastating, but the balance is extremely fine. It's like a Formula One car, not a rugged all-rounder. If injuries and fatigue hit—and they have—the margin for error is minuscule.
Yet Ancelotti didn't create such a situation, the president did. The Italian has had to incorporate essentially four No. 10s (Luka Modric, Rodriguez, Kroos and Isco) into the same lineup as three marquee forwards.
For the most part, he's done it successfully, but he's not to blame when the president's fine, cash-driven balance is disturbed by events—form loss, injuries, suspensions, fatigue—that should have been foreseen by the administrator making the decisions Ancelotti must react to.
And you know what? Given time, Ancelotti will most likely find the answer again. His record suggests he will—a record that makes him perfect for Real Madrid.
Indeed, the Italian is the only manager in history to have won three Champions League titles, is one of only five men to have won the continental competition—both as the Champions League and the European Cup—with two different clubs and is just one of six to have won it as both a player and manager.
If Real Madrid are the club most synonymous with Europe's grandest prize, then Ancelotti, among those who are active, is the manager most synonymous with it.
A major factor in that has been his "soft touch," his ability to draw the most out of players when others couldn't and a knack for managing groups of stars and egos that have proved troublesome for lesser coaches—exactly what's made him successful at Real Madrid.
Yet suddenly Ancelotti finds himself under pressure for what's perceived as mismanagement, despite the roots of the team's current problems lying in the actions of those above him.
And though the pressure is there, he's consistently responded to it.
He's the right man for the job, whether or not the president sees it that way.
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