Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti Can Prove a Point in Champions League vs. Juventus

Fourteen years on, it's almost inconceivable how Carlo Ancelotti's sacking at Juventus transpired. 

Entering the final day of the 2000-01 Serie A season, Ancelotti's side trailed league-leading Roma by two points. The men from the capital faced Parma. The Bianconeri had to deal with Atalanta. 

A title, though improbable, was possible. 

When half-time was reached at Juve's Stadio delle Alpi and Roma's Stadio Olimpico, both teams led—Roma by two; Juventus by one. The trophy was slipping away, but it wasn't yet gone. 

But right there, during the interval, the club made the announcement: Ancelotti had been sacked. 

Afterward, the Italian remarked that he had been informed of his fate several weeks earlier but admitted that the manner of the announcement was "hard to digest."

For Juve, it wasn't that their manager had been poor. Instead, it was because their manager was loathed in his place of work. 

"The reason for Ancelotti's departure is that it is difficult to work in a city where the great part of the fans and the press are against you," former president Umberto Agnelli explained at the time. 

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The disconnect was easy to understand. Ancelotti, a prolific title-winner as a player with Roma and AC Milan, represented the other side of the divide. He'd come from the enemy. During his first match in charge in 1999, he was greeted by a banner from the home fans that read: "A pig can't manage." Even a slew of titles wouldn't have been enough. 

But even if he'd been prepared for the swift end to his tenure, the way in which it was handled would have riled the Italian. 

Now, fourteen years on, with his Real Madrid side having drawn Juventus in the Champions League semi-finals, he has another chance to scratch an itch (he first did so in 2003), to exact revenge over the club that disposed of him so brutally. 

And Ancelotti is the type who seeks revenge. He makes it evident right throughout his book, Carlo Ancelotti: The Beautiful Game of an Ordinary Genius, in which the Guardian's Paul Doyle says "we also learn that he [Ancelotti] can be vengeful and sardonic."

Such characteristics rarely seem apparent when you observe the Real Madrid boss on the touchline or behind the microphone. He's typically so unmoved, both in victory and defeat. He's the ultimate diplomat. Developing bonds with players and fostering harmony within a squad have always been his hallmarks. 

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He's also funny, with the opening to his book serving as a classic example: "There are times when I stand up in front of a full-length mirror and act like a contortionist. I twist my neck and I stare at my ass. My fat butt cheeks aren't a particularly edifying spectacle but…over time it's taught me a lesson: My ass is earthquake-proof."

Yet for some, many even, those endearing qualities have been perceived as signs of weakness. 

"There was always the suspicion that Ancelotti lacked whatever was needed to be a winning manager," said Gazzetta dello Sport's Salvatore Lo Presti (h/t Paula Cocozza of The Telegraph) of his time at Juventus. "He is perhaps a bit too nice, a bit too friendly with the players. He doesn't have (Marcello) Lippi's awesome pride and menace."

Predictably, similar criticisms have been levelled at Ancelotti during Real Madrid's difficult run to begin 2015. He's been perceived as tactically limited, too easy on star players and lacking authority, leading to the suggestion that he possesses a "weak arm."

"With this 'weak arm' of mine I have managed to win three Champions Leagues," he reminded everyone in March.

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As such, it leaves Real Madrid's semi-final clash with Juventus as a significant occasion for the Italian. A European title is on the line, yes, but there's more to it than that for Ancelotti.

He heads to an old club at which his time was difficult, seeking victory for a club at which the situation has also turned difficult.

Marca indicated last year that only the capture of La Decima prolonged his stay at the Bernabeu. And the suspicion is that he needs to do the same again. 

Thus, Ancelotti has points to prove to both Real Madrid and Juventus in this semi-final tie—or, you could say he only has one point to prove but two separate parties to prove it to.