This is Carlo Ancelotti’s 200th Champions League match as a coach, his 1,331st game over a wildly successful career stretching back 30 years at the most high-pressure clubs on earth, and still he is nervous. He has seen it all and has won this competition as a coach four times, more than anyone else ever, including the manager he faces on Tuesday night, but he still can’t help it. Before games, he admits, there’s a moment when the heart rate increases and the sweats start; after them, the best he can hope for is relief.
“Defeat is suffering. Victory is … happiness?” Ancelotti said, as Real Madrid, who consider this trophy their own, prepared to meet Manchester City, who hold it. “No. Unfortunately, that’s not true. It’s a relief. There’s happiness if you win a title, but in individual games [only] relief: for a few days, you’re calmer. But then suffering is part of your work, it’s what keeps you alive: the pressure, the stress.”
