Football News

Three of Ancelotti’s four Champions League wins have come after victories over Bayern in earlier rounds of the tournament.

There can be no doubting that Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti will go down as history as one of the most successful coaches of all time. The Italian is the only man to have won the Champions League four times as a manager, and the only one to have one league title in all of Europe top five leagues (Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1). And if there’s one opponent that is sick of the sight of the former AC Milan tactician, it’s Madrid’s upcoming UCL semi-final opponents Bayern Munich.

That statement just about remains true even when we consider Ancelotti managed the Bavarian giants in 2016 and 2017. After replacing the departed Pep Guardiola, the ex-Italy midfielder won the Bundesliga in his only full season in charge, as well as back-to-back DFL-Supercups.

However, his time in Munich was cut short just a few weeks into his second season following a 3-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League group stage. Reports in Germany claims Ancelotti had lost the support of his players, who had allegedly been unhappy with the manager’s training sessions, deemed not intense enough.

While having Ancelotti at the helm didn’t work out the way Bayern wanted, neither have matches against his teams over the years, which should give Real Madrid plenty of confidence - as if they need it - going into the 2023/24 Champions League semi-finals.

The Italian has faced the Bundesliga giants on eight occasions as a coach and has yet to be beaten, winning six times and drawing twice.

During his eight-year spell as manager of Milan, Ancelotti took on Bayern in the Champions League six times. On the

Carlo Ancelotti Pep Guardiola Bayern Munich Ronaldo Milan Real Madrid