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Carlo Ancelotti (born June 10, 1959 in Reggiolo, Province of Reggio Emilia) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is the current manager of the English Premier League football club Chelsea F.C.

A midfielder, Ancelotti enjoyed a successful playing career, most notably with AC Milan, with whom he won two Scudettos and two European Cups in a five year period. He was capped 26 times for the Italian national team and played at the 1986 and 1990 World Cups.

After spells as coach of Reggiana, Parma and Juventus, Ancelotti was appointed AC Milan manager in 2001. Ancelotti guided Milan to the Scudetto in 2004, the UEFA Champions League in 2003 and 2007 and the Coppa Italia in 2003. They were also Serie A and Champions League runners-up in 2005. He is one of six men to have won the European Cup as player and manager.

Coaching career

Ancelotti is one of only six coaches to win the Champions League as both a player and a coach, along with Miguel Muñoz (Real Madrid player 1956, 1957, Real Madrid coach 1960, 1966); Giovanni Trapattoni (AC Milan player 1963, 1969, Juventus coach 1985); Johan Cruyff (AFC Ajax player 1971-73, FC Barcelona coach 1992), former Milan teammate Frank Rijkaard (AC Milan player 1989, 1990, Ajax player 1995, FC Barcelona coach 2006) and Josep Guardiola (FC Barcelona player 1992, FC Barcelona coach 2009). He also ranks second in number of Milan matches coached with 413, trailing Nereo Rocco.

Reggiana, Parma, and Juventus

Ancelotti's first coaching job was with Serie B squad A.C. Reggiana 1919 in 1995. In his only year with the club, Reggiana earned promotion to Serie A. Ancelotti then returned to Parma - which included upstart goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and current Milan goalkeeping trainer Villiam Vecchi - in 1996. He became the successor of Marcello Lippi at Juventus the next season, but went trophyless during his two-year stint, finishing runner-up twice in Serie A.

A student at Coverciano, in 1997 he penned a research article entitled "The Future of Football: More Dynamism".^[3]

Milan

Ancelotti's fortunes changed when he went to AC Milan in 2001 as a replacement for the fired Fatih Terim. He was inheriting another recently trophyless team in Milan, as the Rossoneri had floundered domestically and in Europe since their last Scudetto victory in 1999. In his first full season, Ancelotti soon had Milan back in European competition, leading them to the semi-finals of the 2001-02 UEFA Cup, in which Milan finished third.

The following season, Ancelotti, who was heavily criticized by club president Silvio Berlusconi due to his defensive tactics, was able to adopt a creative play in Milan while making several roster changes. He made Dida, still maligned for his 2000 Champions League howler against Leeds United, his new starting goalkeeper barely a month into the 2002-03 campaign, while converting budding attacking midfielder Andrea Pirlo to a defensive playmaker and playing him behind Manuel Rui Costa. At the same time, the striking partners of Filippo Inzaghi and Andriy Shevchenko were dominant and dynamic. Milan won the 2003 Champions League, beating Ancelotti's old team, Juventus, 3-2 on penalties at Old Trafford, and the Coppa Italia and took home the Scudetto in 2004.

Under Ancelotti's reign, Milan were also back-to-back Serie A runners-up to Juventus in 2004-05 and 05-06 (both Scudetti were later wiped from the record books due to Juventus' involvement in the Calciopoli scandal), and lost the 2005 CL final to Liverpool F.C. losing 3-2 on penalties after leading 3-0 at halftime. Two years later, though, Milan avenged their defeat to Liverpool with a 2-1 win at the Olympic Stadium in Athens on May 23, 2007, leading to Ancelotti's second Champions League trophy as Milan coach and his fourth title overall, having also won it twice as a Milan player in 1989 and 1990.

Chelsea

Ancelotti announced his resignation from Milan less than an hour following their 2-0 victory over ACF Fiorentina on May 31, 2009, after the club terminated his contract by mutual consent with one year remaining. The next day, he was confirmed as the new Chelsea manager after agreeing to a three-year, £9-million contract.^[4] Ancelotti, succeeding temporary replacement Guus Hiddink, became the club's fifth manager in 21 months, following Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Hiddink. He is the third Chelsea manager hailing from Italy, after Gianluca Vialli and Claudio Ranieri.

On 9 August 2009, Ancelotti scooped his first trophy as Chelsea manager, the Community Shield, after beating Manchester United on penalties. His first Premier League game in charge of the Blues ended in a 2-1 home victory over Hull City on the 15th August 2009. On the 26th of September Chelsea lost their first game under Ancelotti at the DW Stadium against Wigan Athletic, losing 3-1. On 2 December, Chelsea exited the Carling Cup at the quarter finals stage following a penalty shootout defeat to Blackburn Rovers after a 3-3 draw at Ewood Park.