Perhaps the best insight into how Carlo Ancelotti manages big games came as the final whistle blew at the Bernabéu this month, with Real Madrid leading Manchester City 2-1 and another 30 minutes in prospect. While Pep Guardiola drew his players into a tight huddle, explaining exactly what he needed from them, Ancelotti calmly strolled over to Marcelo and Toni Kroos on the substitutes’ bench and asked them who they thought he should bring on in extra time. Because he wasn’t really sure.
Of course if Real had lost that game and City qualified for the Champions League final, you could easily spin that anecdote into a tale about how a passive Ancelotti lost the plot, about how Guardiola’s clear-headed gameplan won the day. Ancelotti has seen and done it all at club level, and yet he is often the first to admit that the first secret of management is that you need a little luck.
