Ancelotti - The fate and shortcomings of the cup master

On May 23, Real Madrid's official news, Ancelotti will leave this summer and will not lead the team to participate in the Club World Cup. He coached Real Madrid twice and for six seasons, he became the head coach with the most championships in Real Madrid's history: 3 Champions League, 3 Club World Cups, 3 European Super Cups, 2 La Liga, 2 King's Cups, 2 Spanish Super Cups, 2 Spanish Super Cups, and 15 trophies in total.

The merits are outstanding, why are the get out of class being dismissed early?

The first legendary coach in football history to gather all the five major league championships. Ancelotti has been in the coaching career and has been very honored, but he has never been able to get rid of a label - "lack of sustainability". Whether it is the wandering trajectory of his coaching career or the repeated failures in defending the league and the Champions League, his greatness has cast a shadow of regret.

Compared with real world-class coaches like Mourinho and Guardiola, I always feel that Ancelotti is a little bit worse.

1. The trajectory of wandering: Why are you always "passengers"?

In Ancelotti's coaching resume, "short cycle" has almost become the keyword. In his 30-year coaching career, except for his 8 years in AC Milan (2001-2009), his maximum term in other clubs was only 4 years (Real Madrid Phase 2 2021-2025).

Behind this wandering nature, two major traits of Ancelotti are reflected: First, he is a typical "fire-fighting coach", good at quickly integrating the lineup and stimulating the potential of the star, but lacks long-term team building plans. Whether it is activating Drogba and Lampard when they first joined Chelsea, or reconciling the "BBC combination" at Real Madrid, he can always make the team combat effectiveness in the short term, but once the lineup ages or the core leaves the team, the team's competitiveness will decline rapidly. Secondly, Ancelotti's "good old man" character made it difficult for him to deal with complex power games. His gentle management style gradually failed in a long-term high-pressure environment.

Ironically, the only AC Milan that allowed Ancelotti to take root was the team that had fiscal tightening and solidified its lineup in the late Berlusconi era. This experience proves that only when the team lacks ambition can Ancelotti's stability appear.

2. Cup masters, league dilemma: the root of the defensive curse

Ancelotti's dominance in the field of cup competitions is unquestionable: 5 Champions League championships, 3 Club World Cup championships, 5 European Super Cup championships... But when he returned to the league, his report card seemed thin - he only won 6 league championships in 30 years, and never successfully defended his title. Even at Milan's peak, he only won the Serie A championship once. The core of this contradiction lies in tactical philosophy. Ancelotti is a "master of pragmatism" and is good at formulating targeted tactics based on the characteristics of his opponents. The accidentality of the Cup elimination system just magnifies his advantages. But in the league, this strategy of "adapting to the enemy" has become a shackle. The league needs a stable system, continuous rotation and stability of abuse, while Ancelotti is more inclined to "look at the food and eat", which leads to the team's state fluctuations.

In addition, Ancelotti's high dependence on the stars has also exacerbated the league's dilemma. His success is often based on the individual abilities of top midfielders (such as Shevchenko, Kaka, Ronaldo, Benzema). Once the core player declines in form or suffers injuries, the team's league competitiveness will decline sharply. In contrast, coaches such as Guardiola and Klopp pay more attention to system construction, and can maintain the lower limit even if the main force is missing.

3. The paradox of the number of champions: Greatness and controversy coexist

coaches ten teams in the five major leagues and wins only 6 league championships - this data seems extremely inconsistent with Ancelotti. In a horizontal comparison, Guardiola has won 12 league championships in 16 years, and Ferguson has won 13 Premier League trophys in 27 years at Manchester United.

The deeper problem is that Ancelotti's football philosophy has always been between "idealism" and "pragmatism". He advocates ball possession and offense (such as 4-3-2-1 in the Milan era), but is also willing to compromise for victory (such as fast counterattacks during Real Madrid era). This flexibility made his Cup myth, but it also made him lose the possibility of establishing a "dynasty team".

Conclusion: The imperfect legend

Ancelotti's coaching career is like an epic about "balance". His soft figure allows him to adapt to any environment, but also prevents him from becoming the "shaper of the system" like Ferguson and Guardiola; his tactical wisdom is enough to win any single game, but it is difficult to maintain a sharp edge in the long league. Perhaps it is this imperfection that makes Ancelotti's image more real - he is not the "football God" who is lofty, but a mortal who is looking for answers in compromise and persistence. When people lament his "lack of sustainability", they should also see the courage behind this wandering: dare to constantly accept challenges and dare to set out again after success or success. Isn’t this another kind of greatness?