In the hour before Karim Benzema gave one of the performances of the season, some among the Real Madrid staff were concerned about his mindset.
The French star hadn’t initially been allowed into Stamford Bridge for the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Chelsea because he had lost his accreditation. He was furious, and distracted.
Carlo Ancelotti had been watching Benzema with his natural serenity, and knew what to say.
“You won’t play tonight,” the Madrid manager said. “I’ll get the masseur to warm up.”
Benzema immediately smiled, and was calmed. Some coaches might have sought to use his anger, of course. Ancelotti knew that Benzema is best when he feels good in himself. The forward went out and scored a hat-trick in what was probably the best individual performance of the Champions League season so far, heading a list from which the 34-year-old has a few contenders. He has probably been the player of the campaign, and is a certain candidate for the Ballon d’Or.
Benzema feels Ancelotti has been influential in nurturing the mindset necessary for this career season. Many of his Madrid teammates share such gratitude. There was delight when Ancelotti posed with them for a photo on Saturday, cigar in hand, that was sent out to Vinicius Junior’s social media followers.
The scene, that was the perfect picture of a man loving how a plan had come together, was to celebrate Real Madrid’s 35th league title. It was also Ancelotti’s first Spanish title, ensuring he became the first ever manager to win the five major European leagues.
Within the month, he could become the first to win four Champions Leagues. This would be a unique collection of achievements, placing Ancelotti at the top of any list of the greatest ever managers.
And yet this is a coach still seen as no longer near the pinnacle of the game. Ancelotti was considered fortunate to get the Madrid job at a transitional point in their history, and president Florentino Perez had given serious consideration to sacking him after the tepid 1-0 first-leg defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last 16. It is one of a few enigmas within the career of a man that is himself so straight up. Those five leagues from five different countries are also the only league medals of his career. That is despite 14 seasons at clubs who could fairly be considered the most powerful in their countries, who should have warranted a much greater return.
Bayern Munich certainly expected much more from Ancelotti in 2017, which was why they sacked him in September of the very next season after his Bundesliga. The German club’s hierarchy felt his everyday coaching was an astounding drop-off after the sophistication of Pep Guardiola, and just not to the level befitting the best of the modern game. It was all so laissez-faire. Many other elite clubs just wouldn’t have considered him, which was why he last season found himself at Everton.
And yet now, here is Ancelotti at the highest level of the game again, with the potential to knock Guardiola out and then go and win a second European Cup in the time since the Catalan coach won his last. Manchester City may have the 4-3 aggregate lead in their semi-final with Madrid, but they also have a sense of anxiety. Guardiola’s players are said to have been left feeling “emotionally exhausted” after that win, all the more so because they had been so good but the tie is still so tight. They couldn’t believe the result, and were struck by Madrid’s resolve.
Within that might lie some of the explanations to the enigmas of Ancelotti’s career.
He is at a point now where his coaching can’t offer the kind of intense kaleidoscopic football that City or Liverpool do, but they can offer the right responses. They can rise to the occasion.
Through that, although it’s fair to say Ancelotti was a make-do appointment for Madrid in the summer of 2021, he may well be the perfect Madrid manager. At least for these circumstances.
A club who never give in on Champions League nights, who have this character for victory when everything seems lost, have as their leader a man who knows better than anyone the psychology of these occasions.
Perhaps it’s little wonder Madrid have reached such heights this season, despite again never really looking that convincing.
There is little dispute they are in a lower moment in their history. The lack of recent star signings, and stale state of the squad, speak to that. The desperation for a Super League proclaimed it.
This goes hand in hand with a declined Spanish league, which is one considerable reason Madrid have been able to win it at a canter.
And yet, as ever with Ancelotti, there has been a deft navigation of circumstances. There is something gloriously old-fashioned about how he has managed this Champions League run, in a new world of football where the super clubs are so super-charged. His players aren’t actually working in the best of everything. He just gets them to rise to their best level. It is coaching by instinct, when everyone else is so meticulously planned.
This is what has stood out in this season at the Bernabeu.
Ancelotti now delegates most of the main day-to-day running, in a manner similar to his old friend, Sir Alex Ferguson. His son, David, looks after most of the tactical sessions at Madrid. Ancelotti only really gets involved when there are training games or shadow work. They are always designed around the next game, rather than being defined by any deeper ideology.
Ancelotti is not dogmatic in any way, but these sessions are among the rare occasions when he gets animated. They are when he can get vocal, and even angry.
Unlike the vast majority of top managers, though, Ancelotti apologises when he loses his temper. It is why the players can find it funny. There is huge warmth towards him. This shouldn’t be confused for softness. They like him as a human. It means they all want to play for him.
That in itself comes from a unique instinct for top players, that marks him out from most top managers. It is probably the main factor that has elevated his career.
A telling indication of this came in the first leg against City.
As the home side were rampaging through Madrid, and Guardiola was still getting so histrionic on the line, Ancelotti just stood there with that quizzical look on his face. It is his natural reaction to most situations, of course, but it was underscored by the knowledge that this radiates to the players. And if there is anything the Italian knows that is needed on intense Champions League nights, it is calm focus. It is how Madrid have been able to persevere despite some dismal situations. It is why they are always alive.
This approach was perhaps best articulated by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who explained how expertly Ancelotti manages squad psychology.
“No matter how much chaos there was, Carlo handled it,” the Swede has said. “He knew what he needed to do because of his experience. The chaos was never allowed to reach the team.”
Ancelotti ensures his stars always feel comfortable.
The offset to this is that it possibly means he doesn’t push them to the absolute highest level. It is likely that someone like Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp or Thomas Tuchel would get more out of this Madrid in the long term. That’s what ideology in modern coaching does. It raises the ceiling of an entire squad.
Ancelotti instead raises individuals when it is required.
This has been the story of this Madrid season, after all. It has been a constant response to circumstances.
It is possible the circumstances next season might move beyond him. Barcelona’s 4-0 victory at the Bernabeu, that came from the kind of ideology that Ancelotti cannot introduce, served as a warning in Spain.
There also remains the possibility that City eviscerate them in this second leg. Guardiola’s team probably should have won by three or four in Manchester, and they could well rectify that at the Bernabeu.
If that’s the case, it isn’t impossible that Perez sacks him again, even after a league title. Madrid like Julian Nagelsmann. Mauricio Pochettino is still at least in their thinking.
But there’s still no obvious candidate. Perez also changes his mind a lot.
Ancelotti could yet make everyone else’s minds up. He could still go and win this Champions League. Another “magic night”, as the Italian put it, awaits. Few know them better than he does.
