Carlo Ancelotti once turned down Roberto Baggio, then built a record career
As a young coach at Parma, Carlo Ancelotti blocked the signing of Roberto Baggio. He was so sure a rigid 4–4–2 was the only way to win that he saw no place for a playmaker, and he later admitted he regretted it. The manager he became would win league titles in all five of Europe's biggest leagues.
Early managerial dogma came straight from his mentor. Ancelotti had played under Arrigo Sacchi at the great Milan side of the late 1980s and served as his assistant with Italy, reaching the 1994 World Cup final. At Parma he forced Gianfranco Zola onto the left wing to fit the system, and both Zola and Hristo Stoichkov eventually left. Parma still finished second in 1996–97, with a squad that included young Gianluigi Buffon and Fabio Cannavaro, but he was dismissed after placing sixth the following season.
His playing career explains the pull of that Milan model. A midfielder with a thunderous long-range shot but little pace, he rose from Parma, whom he fired into Serie B with two goals in a decisive play-off against Triestina, to Roma, where he won the 1983 title and four Coppa Italia trophies. At Milan he won consecutive European Cups in 1989 and 1990, including a memorable solo goal in a 5–0 semi-final rout of Real Madrid. Knee injuries ended his playing days at 33, though he signed off in May 1992 with two goals off the bench against Hellas Verona.
The flexibility came later, and so did the trophies. Back at Milan he won the Champions League in 2003 and 2007, and a Scudetto with a then-Italian record of 82 points. He won a double with Chelsea in his first season, gave Paris Saint-Germain their first league title in 19 years, delivered Real Madrid's tenth European Cup, and won the Bundesliga at Bayern Munich.
A second spell in Madrid from 2021 brought La Liga and Champions League doubles in 2022 and 2024, lifting his tally to a record five Champions League titles as a manager. In 2025 he took his first national team job, with Brazil.
Source: Carlo Ancelotti
