Looking back at Carlo Ancelotti's time as Chelsea manager
Carlo Ancelotti has become known for being one of the most successful managers of all time and that has been the end result of his coaching abilities, leadership, and knowing how to handle big personalities. All of that has come to fruition at several different clubs but one that deserves a lot more attention is his first season at Chelsea where he won the Premier League with a historical goalscoring record.
Handling of a difficult squad
It's easy to look back at the 2009/10 Chelsea squad and claim that is obvious that Carlo Ancelotti had such a good run in his first season. Frank Lampard, John Terry, Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, Ashley Cole... all at the peak of their powers and with a lot of experience under their belt. That is true but they were also a difficult group to manage, with the Italian being their fifth coach in the previous 21 months, following the likes of José Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari, and Guus Hiddink.Therefore, Ancelotti was coming into a dressing room with a lot of baggage but he already coached other clubs with heavy players, such as Juventus and AC Milan. And based on statements mentioned by his former Chelsea players, his man-management was stellar in London.
"He is a players' manager," Frank Lampard said on March of 2020. "He listens to his players and he wants to get the best from his best players because he knows that's how you win the league."
"Didier Drogba scored 29 goals that year, comfortably his highest tally in the league. Carlo created a great atmosphere, he got all the best players in and we went on a run late in the season. To finish the league we were winning 7-0 or 8-0, crazy scorelines."
This is a feeling that is voiced by then-club captain John Terry, who spoke about it during the 2018 The Coaches' Voice interview.
"What I really loved about Carlo was his man-management," Terry said. "The way he adapted as well - because he had a way of coaching that probably didn't suit English football. You know the responsibility is on you as a group. And he was part of that. The togetherness was incredible and obviously we went on to win some big things."
Florent Malouda
His handling of Drogba and Malouda
Ancelotti often gets credit, and rightfully so, for making Ángel Di Maria a part of a midfield three in the 2013/14 season of Real Madrid, but he already did something similar with Florent Malouda. The left-footed winger was put on the left side of a diamond midfield and went on to have the best goalscoring season of his career with the Blues, with 15 goals in 51 games across all competitions."I think it was maybe not my best season at Chelsea, but the one I improved the most," Malouda said to the official Chelsea website in 2020. "Year after year I improved, but that season I got to a whole different level. It was like I was restricted to a role and then Carlo opened up the doors for me, so I took more responsibility and people were like: 'wow, he is able to do it.'"
"Carlo is someone who will find a way to improve a team however good they are. It was the same for individuals. He managed to get the best out of us. He gave me a lot."
The same can be said of Didier Drogba, with the Ivorian striker scoring a total of 37 goals in 44 games across all competitions. This is particularly impressive because it was Drogba's finest season of his entire career.
"I have never (managed) a stronger striker that Didier," Ancelotti said in 2009. "Filippo Inzaghi at Milan was a smart guy, Andriy Shevchenko was strong, but not in the air, Hernan Crespo, Alessandro Del Piero - Didier is different to them all."
Giving freedom to the players
The Abramovich era of Chelsea is not remember by its football but rather by its results, which were quite positive. However, Ancelotti's first season with the club was one of free-flowing attacking football, which was established by giving the players a lot of freedom."He adapted very quickly and when speaking to me, Frank (Lampard), Didier (Drogba), he wanted to pick our brains: 'Is this too much tactics for the players to do? Are we doing too much of this?'" Terry said in 2018.
"It was not as structured as Jose Mourinho's team but he got the best from the players," Lampard said in 2020. "We had a real freedom for full-backs to get forward and we all covered for each other. When it clicked for us, it really clicked."
"Every player he managed, not only at Chelsea but I've had feedback from other clubs as well, they know he is a reliable source of information and knowledge," Malouda said in 2020. "It's good to count on people like him. For everything we are trying to do after our playing career, this is the kind of person who can support you."
This is a big reason for Ancelotti's success throughout the years and a big reason for him winning the 2009/10 season with a goalscoring record of more than one hundred goals scored in one year.