Carlo Ancelotti’s farewell from Real Madrid marks the end of an era defined not just by trophies, but by trust, temperament, and timeless European nights.
The game against Real Sociedad last weekend was not just the final fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu for Lucas Vazquez and Luka Modric, it was also Carlo Ancelotti’s last as Real Madrid manager.
The Italian manager’s second and what seems to be his final stint as Los Blancos’ manager has come to an end, and he has already taken charge as the head coach of the Brazil national team. The 65-year-old will now be focused on guiding the South American giants to the World Cup having done wonders for the Spanish giants in club football.
During his first stint at Madrid, Ancelotti ended Real Madrid’s 11-year-long wait for their 10th Champions League title (La Decima). While Los Blancos had done everything in their power to get their hands on the trophy, it kept eluding them but the Italian managed to get them back on track.
While he left the club in June 2015, he laid the foundation for success as they went on to create history by winning the Champions League three years in a row under Zinedine Zidane, who was Ancelotti’s deputy during La Decima.
Carlo Ancelotti then returned to the club for his second stint in July 2021. The club was in a transition phase as some of its biggest superstars (Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos to name a few) had left. While it felt like Ancelotti was brought in to steady the ship, the Italian tactician ended up doing wonders for them.
In his very first season, he guided them to yet another Champions League title and this time around, he even won the league. Ancelotti brought the best out of Karim Benzema, who went on to win the Ballon d’Or for his role in Real Madrid’s triumph.
A season later Benzema also left the club and Ancelotti once again had to make significant changes to his system as he no longer had a focal point in attack. He switched formation, adjusted to the personnel at his disposal and guided them to another Champions League as well as the La Liga title during the 2023/24 season.
While the 2024/25 season didn’t quite go to plan, with no major trophies added to their cabinet, Ancelotti’s second stint will always be remembered for the unforgettable nights at the Bernabeu that led to two Champions League triumphs.
Now that his time as Madrid’s manager has come to an end, Ancelotti leaves behind a legacy built on class, calmness, and a knack for delivering when it mattered most.
The Calm in the Chaos
Managing Real Madrid is not an easy task given the weight of expectations. Even the best of managers have lost their cool and have failed to deliver at one of the biggest clubs in the world. But when it comes to Ancelotti, he stands tall with his quiet demeanour and remarkable emotional intelligence.
Rarely do we see Ancelotti lose his cool even in the most difficult situations. During his tenure, Madrid have found themselves on the back foot in quite a few important fixtures but he managed to turn things around in the final moments with his ability to bring on the right players for the right moments.
While the incredible comebacks Real Madrid have scripted during his time at the club are credited to the players and the Bernabeu atmosphere, people tend to overlook the fact that it’s often been Ancelotti’s timely substitutions that have made all the difference.
Tactical Simplicity, Not Simplicity of Thought
The majority of managers in world football have a preferred system and tend to fit the players at their disposal into it, expecting them to play a specific brand of football. But Ancelotti is completely different in that regard, his systems change depending on the players he has.
The Italian focuses on making the most of the squad he’s got, using players to the best of their abilities. During his first tenure at Madrid, he had Ronaldo, Benzema and Gareth Bale up top. He gave them freedom in the final third and went with a 4-3-3 formation to ensure all his top attackers were on the pitch.
While it was mostly the 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 during that spell, he used multiple systems during his second stint. He started with a 4-3-3 with Benzema as the focal point and also used the 4-4-2 when facing teams that were going to dominate possession.
But after Benzema’s departure, he shifted to a 4-4-2, not the traditional flat version, but a diamond with Jude Bellingham in the number ten role. Without Benzema, he made the midfield the heart of the team. On paper, the English international was a ten, but on the pitch, he operated more like a false nine.
He was given the license to make late runs into the box, and his presence allowed Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo to drift wide and showcase their dribbling skills. In the 2023/24 season, when Ancelotti won his third Champions League title with Real Madrid, the way he used Joselu and Brahim Diaz off the bench was exceptional too.
Although the 2024/25 season didn’t go to plan, he was handed the massive task of integrating Kylian Mbappe into the lineup. Adding a world-class forward might not seem too complicated, but with Vinicius and Rodrygo already in the team, both natural left-wingers, it certainly wasn’t straightforward.
Even then, he managed to help Mbappe transition into a striker, and the Frenchman went on to have an incredible debut campaign. Without overcomplicating things, Ancelotti adapted to changing times and changing personnel and this trait isn’t unique to Madrid, it’s been a constant throughout his career.
Ancelotti prefers giving his players the freedom to link up and express themselves, rather than forcing them to play a certain way, something many of the so-called best managers often insist on.
The Champions League Whisperer
During his time at the club, Real Madrid have pulled off some incredible wins in the Champions League. He has guided them to a total of three Champions League titles and when we focus on those wins, we come across some incredible comeback wins majority of which came in their own backyard.
Los Blancos pulled off wins from the jaws of defeat not just once but on multiple occasions, making it seem like a habit. It all started with the final of the 2013/14 Champions League where they smashed Atletico Madrid 4-1.
While the scoreline suggests it was a walk in the park, it wasn’t really that simple as they were losing 1-0 up until the 90-minute mark. Despite dominating the proceedings they were behind in the game. But in the 93rd minute when Modric delivered the ball into the box from the corner, then skipper Sergio Ramos rose high and headed it home to bring the team on level terms.
The game went into extra-time, where Los Blancos took apart the Atletico defence to secure La Decima. In his second stint, the team made it more of a habit to come back from the dead and win games at the Bernabeu.
In the 2021-22 season, they scripted three incredible comebacks against PSG, Chelsea and Manchester City and went on to lift the title. They squared up against the start trident of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar (PSG) in the round of 16.
Los Blancos lost the first leg 1-0 and Mbappe doubled the French giants’ lead in the first half of the second leg. What happened next is now a part of the Madrid folklore as Benzema scored a 17-minute second-half hattrick to guide his team to the quarter-finals.
While they won the first leg of the quarter-final against Chelsea 3-1, they nearly threw away the tie before scripting another fairy tale comeback. Chelsea were 3-0 up in the second leg (4-3 aggregate) heading into the final ten minutes when Rodrygo brought them back into the tie before Benzema scored in extra time to take them to the next round.
They followed it up with another incredible win against City in the semi-finals. Madrid lost the first leg 4-3 against Pep Guardiola’s team and made it 5-3 on aggregate thanks to a 73rd-minute strike from Riyad Mahrez.
Ancelotti subbed on Rodrygo with 20 minutes to go and he scored twice in injury-time to take the tie into extra-time, where Benzema slotted a penalty to take them to the final which they won against Liverpool without much difficulty.
The 2021/22 season was full of comeback and something similar happened in the 2023/24 Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich when Joselu came off the bench and scored twice in the 88th and 91st minute to take them to the final. They were trailing 3-2 on aggregate before the Spanish striker who was more of a backup option, came on to turn the tide in their favour.
While Ancelotti’s men were not really favourites in the majority of these ties, he simply found a way to win, riding on the back of the incredible atmosphere the fans created for his team at home. The Italian might be gone, but he has left an incredible mark on the club’s history.
In the future, whenever Madrid need a magical comeback to overcome the best teams in the world, they will believe it’s possible because they’ve done it time and again under Don Carlo.
If we closely observe what Ancelotti has achieved at Real Madrid, it becomes clear that while he is undoubtedly a great tactician, much of his success stems from his exceptional man-management, a quality even the best footballers have praised.