From Milan To London: A Look at Carlo Ancelotti's First Year in England

From 2001 through 2009, AC Milan were one of the top clubs in all of Europe with great players, such as Andrea Pirlo, Paolo Maldini, and Kaka (among others). They were able to help make Milan a dominant force in Europe once again.

But throughout all of these years, there was one man who was able to truly make himself great for the Rossoneri, as they were able to win the Champions League twice and Serie A once.

That man was Carlo Ancelotti, who spent eight successful seasons with AC Milan.

But after the 2008-2009 season came to a close, Ancelotti left Milan and decided to take his skills elsewhere.

That location was at Stamford Bridge in London, as Chelsea hired Ancelotti to replace interim manager Guus Hiddink to get Chelsea back to the promised land on top of the Premier League table.

After taking control, Ancelotti brought in Yuri Zhirkov and from the start of the season, Chelsea were truly the top side in the Premier League table.

But as the season slowly progressed, Chelsea started to slip up a little bit, as they suffered losses to the likes of Wigan and Blackburn (in the Carling Cup), and also lost points to the likes of West Ham and Birmingham City.

With this, it appeared that Chelsea could be slipping up just enough for Manchester United to overtake them in the league table and win their fourth consecutive Premier League crown.

But Ancelotti was unfazed, and he worked to make sure that Chelsea would not lose the Premier League.

Despite having players leave for the African Cup of Nations, and the ineffectiveness of Nicholas Anelka, the Chelsea skipper was not going to allow himself to lose the Premier League title.

This was most evident at Old Trafford on April 5, when Ancelotti helped lead Chelsea to a 2-1 win over Man United at Old Trafford, and all but delivered the Premier League trophy to Stamford Bridge.

And despite a loss to Tottenham at White Hart Lane back on April 17, Chelsea will most likely win the league by one point over Man United.

But regardless of the Premier League, Ancelotti has also been able to carry his success over to the FA Cup, where Chelsea have beaten Watford, Preston North End, Cardiff City, Stoke City, and Aston Villa as they will now face an injury ravaged Portsmouth squad in the FA Cup final on May 15.

Now that Chelsea have only two matches left this season (both of which they should win), this season truly is a testament of how great of a manager Carlo Ancelotti is.

Ever since Jose Mourinho left back in September of 2008, Chelsea have won only one major trophy, and have left every championship that they haven't won with a bitter taste in their mouths.

But Ancelotti has been able to bring the silverware back to the Bridge, and what he has done cannot be understated.

He knows what it takes to beat Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United, and he also knows what it takes to get his side to produce to their best.

And now with a league double all but ensured, this season has to go down as one of his greatest seasons as a manager to date.