source: www.soccernet.com
The most open secret of all time has finally been confirmed. Carlo Ancelotti has now been officially appointed as Chelsea's manager after his reported "mutual consent" departure from Milan. Personally, I don't know him well enough to judge whether he'll succeed in the hot seat at Chelsea. But my gut is telling me we need a guy who looks like he has more tenacity. I'm afraid Ancelotti doesn't quite make the cut, but well, I might be wrong. Appointing someone who has only exceled in the Serie A also doesn't quite convince me yet, especially so when the big boss Abramovich wants attractive instead of effective football which I conveniently stereotyped the Italians to excel in.
Personality and football philosophy aside, it would be inevitable for comparisons after Hiddink's heroic stint as caretaker manager for Chelsea. Who doesn't love Hiddink you tell me? Apart from his lie when he said Chelsea will attack Barca at the Nou Camp, which IMO turned out to be quite an impressive defensive display, other than that he has done quite an impressive job at salvaging Chelsea's season. Hiddink will definitely be missed for all the right reasons in his short stint at Chelsea.
Continuing with the comparisons with past managers of Chelsea, it was also reported that Hiddink and Michael Ballack (of all people) wants Ancelotti to be given time to prove himself. Doesn't this sound so recent? Reminds me of the Brazilian (read: Phil Scolari) who got sacked for not winning games. But this time, Ancelotti was asked to be given time, even before the ball is kicked. Are the guys preapring us mentally that he's going to be worse than Scolari? Again, I hope i'm wrong.
I believe a section of the Chelsea fans would also compare the newly throned manager to the Special One, who did reasonably well (and thats an understatement) during his time at Chelsea. Mourinho was the man who won back to back Premier League titles amongst numerous other cups with Chelsea; he was also the man who created the mental toughness in the Chelsea players that started the long unbeaten home record. Personally, I feel Mourinho is really one of a kind. His charismatic way of managing the media and the squad never cease to amaze and occasionally, amuse me. He is the irreplaceable Special One.
Looks like the odds are all stacked against Ancelotti to perform and create a legacy of his own at Chelsea. Even his trusted coaching / backroom staff at Milan aren't allowed to join him at Chelsea as the board prefers him to work with the current assistant, Ray Wilkins. Like his predecessors who have succeeded at Chelsea (Mourinho and Hiddink), having support from the management is critical. It already feels like a mis-step when the board refused his request to work with his own backroom staff.
I give Ancelotti one season at most. IF Hiddink becomes available after Russia fails to qualify for the world cup, I got a sneaky feeling Ancelotti could just be a seat warmer.
p.s. The only comforting news from his appointment is his intention to buy the £50m Aguero from Athletico Madrid. And that's if Aguero chooses Chelsea over the other suitors which include Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan and cash-rich Manchester City.
p.p.s I still can't believe Ballack came out and said something. Shouldn't he be sold to make way for someone like Xabi Alonso?! Why is he even being offered a one-year contract extension? WTF?!
p.p.p.s Did you know that Hiddink has taken up a new role at Chelsea as their technical advisor? So what exactly does he do? My guess is as good as yours. But I certainly do think he'll be largely involved in Chelsea's transfer market targets. *whisper whisper*
