It is official, Carlo Ancelotti has his wish and is now the manager of Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Ancelotti has long been the favorite to take over at the Santiago Bernabeu, after telling Paris Saint-Germain of his desire to manage Real however the deal has been held up as PSG searched for Ancelotti’s successor. But now they’ve found him with former French national team manager Laurent Blanc handed a two-year deal.
PSG won the French title for the first-time since 1994 last season under Ancelotti’s stewardship, however as soon as the 2012-13 campaign ended the former AC Milan and Chelsea manager made it clear that he wanted a move away from Paris.
Ancelotti has shown his managerial nous across the European continent, winning trophies in Italy, England and France. The 54-year-old Italian manager is now hoping to bring domestic and European success back to the Spanish capital.
But what about that old saying, “be careful what you wish for...” Yeah, I think the Italian maestro will do just fine.
PSG’s former boss has been handed a three-year contract with Madrid, as they aim to bounce back from the José Mourinho era and challenge Barcelona’s dominance on Spanish soccer. Ancelotti could be the man to bring success to Madrid, with a whole stack of trophies already under his belt.
While Blanc is the new man at the helm of the reigning French champions, and will have plenty of money to spend at the mega-rich club. Domestic success at Bordeaux in 2007-10 lead to the former French international defender taking charge of the national team, but Blanc’s reign in charge of Les Blues ended in turmoil after a disappointing Euro 2012 campaign. He has been out of the game ever-since but is still highly regarded as one of Europe’s top club managers.
Now is the chance for him to prove just how good he is.
(MORE: With Blanc in at PSG, Ancelotti now free to takeover at Real Madrid)
Ancelotti’s appointment makes sense for both parties. He wanted a move back to Spain, Italy or England to manage in the worlds biggest leagues but he is also adept at handling the massive egos and talent at his disposal when managing a club of Real Madrid’s stature, he proved when succeeding at both AC Milan and Chelsea.
We’ve been waiting for this announcement for quite some time, but now both managers have landed in their respective jobs, it all seems to make sense and slot into place symbiotically. Blanc is a tactician who can help develop PSG’s youngsters into a well-organized side that can prosper in Europe. While Ancelotti has the capability to turn Real Madrid into a winning machine once more.