Carlo Ancelotti does a touching in-depth interview about his childhood, philosophy and more with TheTimes which is under paywall and so I'm sharing most snippets here: "They think I am a sort of kind grandpa, Don Carlo, they call me — or Maestro. I’ve got to say, I really, really like that.”

Carlo Ancelotti has done an outstanding in-depth interview about his childhood, evolution as a manger, identity, philosophy, man management and more with TheTimes which is unfortunately under paywall and hence I am sharing some of the snippets from it:


Carlo Ancelotti on Real Madrid players love towards him:

They think I am a sort of kind grandpa, Don Carlo, they call me — or Maestro. I’ve got to say, I really, really like that.”

Carlo Ancelotti on the change of his philosophy and evolution as a manager:

“When I started, I wasn’t like this, I had one system that I learnt at AC Milan from Arrigo Sacchi. It was 4-4-2. And for this I refused to have Roberto Baggio at Parma because he wanted to play No10. I said, ‘No, I don’t play No10.’ He was one of the best players in the world at the time and I refused to have him because I just wanted to play with two strikers. Today, I would say, ‘Baggio, come to Parma, and we’ll arrange the situation.’ Instead I told him, ‘Listen, Roberto, there is no space for you’ — and he went to Bologna instead.

It was a mistake and I tried to change my idea when I went to Juventus. I had Zidane, and he was No10. Should I put him right, or left? Impossible. Zidane is the most important player in my team and he has to be No10 and I have to adapt. From there I always took into account the characteristics of the players to build the system.”

Carlo Ancelotti on his current philosophy and managing style:

“To have only one identity of your team is a limit, We played a game in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk. Very good team, Roberto De Zerbi was their coach. What he was doing with full backs, and different positions, really good. But I said to my players, they want you to press. Don’t press. If you press they will pass the ball around you. Don’t press, and they will give the ball to you. We didn’t press — and we won 5-0.”

"You see, there is no style for me, No Ancelotti style. My style is not recognised, because I change. The style takes into consideration the preparation of the players."

Carlo Ancelotti on game plan of defending deep against Man City in the CL this season:

Against Manchester City [in the Champions League quarter-final] we played low block, strong defence. We have played that way this season one or two times, no more. We don’t play like that, we are more attacking. But I saw that as the way to compete and to win that game. This season, we lost Karim Benzema, but Bellingham arrived. We had two fantastic strikers, Vinícius and Rodrygo, but they play wide. So we start to play Vinícius and Rodyrgo with Bellingham behind, No10 — 4-3-1-2.

Carlo Ancelotti on current tactics that he deploys at Real Madrid this season:

“We did really well at the beginning, Bellingham scored a lot of goals, but then in one match with Atletico Madrid they scored three goals from crosses because the right side was not covered. So we changed and put Bellingham to help defensively inside. We adapt without making the players uncomfortable. Vinícius does not want to play inside, so I won’t force him to play inside. He doesn’t show his best quality there, so I have to give him freedom. I spend a lot of time defensively, working with my team, working together."

"Offensively I give some information, but not too much. What can I tell them? Vinícius was always fantastic one-against-one but I have helped him to be more effective inside the pitch, not just wide. He is fast, he is really talented, but he has to beat two people from wide to have a shot. That movement in the middle of the pitch, with one touch he can score a goal.”

Carlo Ancelotti on the history and DNA of Real Madrid that makes it so special:

"They never forget, (Champions League success) Wherever you go at the club, it’s [Alfredo] Di Stéfano, Di Stéfano. Come to the training ground, Di Stéfano there, Di Stéfano there."

“They say at the Bernabéu there is a God and he wears a white shirt, and who knows maybe that is true, but I think that this God punishes mistakes. If you make a mistake, the God in white punishes you.”

Carlo Ancelotti on future of Real Madrid:

"They work very hard. It will not be easy. But my players work hard, too. And humble. To be humble is the key point of this squad. We won the league this season because there is no ego here. Vinícius, no ego. Bellingham, no ego. Rodrygo, no ego. And the senior players are like that. Toni Kroos, Dani Carvajal, Nacho, Luka Modric. I don’t know what happens in the future but there is no jealousy between the young ones now. Humility is important. You must have that.”

Carlo Ancelotti on his calmness persona in the sidelines even in the tough moments:

“Do you think they listen more if you shout? No. The more you shout, the less they listen. The key point is I have a lot of passion, but I’m not obsessed, I’m not obsessed with my job. I never was, not about football. I really liked it, as a player, as a manager, but I don’t become crazy. I’m calm. Whether the game goes well or whether it goes badly, I am in control of myself. At the press conference, under control. And that is because I am not obsessed.”"

Carlo Ancelotti on his poor and struggling childhood:

“My father was a farmer. It was him, my mother, my grandfather, my grandmother and my sister. We were six and [had] no money, at all. Money, for me, is not important because we grew up without it. I never heard my father talk about it, never to my mother. And I never heard my father or my mother disrespect my grandfather or my grandmother. It was a really good atmosphere in the family, but also a lot of problems because we didn’t have money.”

Final Words Of The Article:

We finish the wine, we leave the restaurant, in the lobby a young couple ask for a selfie. The request begins, “Don Carlo…” He stops. He smiles. He told me earlier that when he retires he would like to stay in Madrid. It feels like his home now. And he is at home there, too.


The farmer’s son in this biggest of football cities, who changes with the seasons, yet has never truly compromised an inch. Always himself. Don Carlo, El Maestro, what a guy.

Full Article: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/sport/football/article/carlo-ancelotti-interview-italian-manager-bnj7hrxzt