Arrigo Sacchi opened up about a telephone call he had with Carlo Ancelotti following Real Madrid’s thrilling Champions League semi-final win over Bayern Munich.
The 64-year-old Italian tactician has continued to shine and impress with Los Blancos this term, guiding them to their 36th La Liga title and taking them to the Champions League final, where they’ll face underdogs Borussia Dortmund.
Ancelotti has already written himself into the history books with his work in Europe and has further confirmed his legendary status, becoming the first and only coach to reach six different Champions League finals. He’s also the only tactician to win all of Europe’s top five leagues, an incredible achievement.
Across the continent, the former Milan coach’s achievements have often been underappreciated but now he’s finally starting to be considered one of the greatest of all time. Many Azzurri fans have been hoping to see him take over the Italy national team one day.
Ancelotti call with Sacchi
Writing for La Gazzetta dello Sport, Sacchi opened up about his recent hour-long conversation with Ancelotti, discussing the legendary coach and his mindset in the dugout.
“The first thing I told him, when we spoke yesterday morning, was that he can’t make me suffer so much. ‘Carlo, I had a bad time!’. And he, who always wants to joke: ‘It’s a tactic, Arrigo. We pretend to be dead and then, suddenly, at the end of the match, we rise again and win!’.
“He is truly a phenomenon, my friend Ancelotti. We spent more than an hour on the phone, I asked him to tell me exactly how it went, how he saw it from the bench, what he thought, how he prepared the challenge.
“And he was dead tired because he had only slept two hours, always available, always kind, always ready to make jokes. My usual Carletto, in short.
“I immediately congratulated him because he reached the Champions League final for the sixth time. Six times are not a few times, he won four, two with Milan and two with Real Madrid; he lost one, with the Rossoneri; and one will be played in London against Borussia Dortmund.
“Ancelotti has come a long way and has shown everyone, even those who considered him in a downward spiral after the not positive experience with Napoli, that he is still among the best coaches in the world. Do you know why Carlo is good?
“Because he is a boy who has patience, who has passion for his work, who goes to the pitch every day and tries to improve his players first and then himself. If someone wins in Italy, England, France, Germany and Spain, i.e. in the main European championships, and also wins four Champions Leagues (and another final…), he is a champion of the dugout.
“No one can have any doubts about this. Sometimes they ask me if, when I wanted him at my side in the national team in 1992, I had glimpsed his qualities. I am not a fortune teller, and therefore I could not imagine that he would have reached these levels, but Carlo certainly already demonstrated that he possessed those qualities that allow you to achieve success.
“I told him on the phone: ‘I brought you to Milan because you were a good player, but above all because I knew you as a good person’. I have always looked at the human and character aspect first, and then the technical one.
“And then I reminded him of when, during a match against Como which we were already winning 3-0, he launched into the attack to score the fourth goal and, in the process, even broke his finger. Then that match ended 5-0, the last goal was scored by Ruud Gullit.
“Carletto was like that, and he still is like that: always generous beyond all limits, willing to give his soul for the cause. He was on the pitch, as an excellent midfielder, and he is on the bench, with his calm, his wisdom, his irony. Everyone loves him, there must be a reason, right?
“And then Ancelotti is an honest man, always ready to leave the stage to others. For example, he told me that the substitution of the fundamental Joselu – author of the decisive brace against Bayern – was suggested to him by his son Davide, who is a very good assistant.
“Another coach, perhaps, would have kept this secret all to himself, but instead he wanted to involve his son in the success, and then the staff, and then all the players, and then the Bernabéu fans. This is how a winning group is created, and in fact in Madrid, where I have several friends, starting with the president Florentino Perez, everyone tells me they adore him.
“Now he has won the La Liga, with full merit, and has reached the Champions League final, he is missing the last step to reach the top of the ladder, once again, the fifth! I told him to be careful, because Terzic’s Borussia Dortmund are a tough team, which runs and presses, but there is no need for me to remind him of certain details.
“Knowing Ancelotti, he will have already started studying the moves to face the Germans. Carlo Ancelotti is someone who leaves nothing to chance, he is meticulous, precise, he knows that victory is the result of work, sacrifice, effort, and nothing else.
“I’m curious to see how Mbappe will manage to fit into Real’s mechanism. When making certain purchases you must always pay attention to the way in which the champion fits into the new reality. But I believe that Carlo will be able to manage this situation too.
“He created a group with a very strong character, and he also repeated this to me during the phone call. ‘They are all very good guys who understood the importance of the collective’, he told me. ‘If that’s the case, I replied, you’ve already come a long way.’
“He laughed when I pointed out that Real Madrid are a team for which the pitch always seems too big. ‘Everyone must run. Back and forth,’ I recommended. And he: ‘There are those who prefer to struggle when going on the attack and those who, however, when it comes to coming back, go a little slower’.
“Then I reminded him how much our Milan ran: Baresi ran, Maldini ran, Donadoni ran, Gullit ran, even you ran… And I added: ‘Our Milan would have massacred your Real, dear Carletto. Pressing, pace, speed…’.
“He didn’t answer me immediately, he thought for a bit and then concluded: ‘It depends on whether I play with Milan or whether I coach Real…’. I repeat: he is truly a phenomenon.”