Struggling Everton have finally pulled the trigger in appointing a huge managerial name in Carlo Ancelotti. A lot of speculation surrounded the club since the sacking of Marco Silva on December 5th and the names thrown in the air included the likes of David Moyes, Unai Emery and Sam Allardyce. Ancelotti was bubbling under from the beginning, but was widely thought too big and expensive name to take charge of a club of Everton’s stature – after all the Italian had successfully managed teams like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, PSG and Juventus in the past. Everton managed to convince the experienced manager to take charge with a heftly four-and-half-year deal, clear vision of the future and – allegedly – a truckload of money.
It is not the first time Ancelotti has taken up a challenge in England. It was ten years ago, after the chaos ensuing from Jose Mourinho’s first stint at Chelsea, Ancelotti took over the team left brewing for two seasons by Avaram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Guus Hiddink. It was the Italian’s task to return the title as well as bring stability to the club that had seen four managers in two seasons. And that’s exactly what Ancelotti did. In his first season, Chelsea won the EPL title and in his second they were runners up. Despite the success, Ancelotti was let go after two seasons.
Ancelotti is used to winning, with three Champions League titles under his belt as well as Italian Serie A title with AC Milan, Ligue 1 title with PSG and German Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich in addition to the EPL title with Chelsea. His last appointment with Napoli was not that glorious, though. He inherited a team that had challenged for the title in the past two seasons from Maurizio Sarri and did take Napoli second in his first season. The current season started badly and Ancelotti was let go after 15 games and replaced by his protégé from AC Milan, Gennaro Ivan Gattuse, who played under Ancelotti for eight seasons.
The experienced Italian is used to working with big egos and star caliber players, so it remains to be seen how Everton will accommodate Ancelotti’s style. He will bring a wealth of experience and knowledge, along with the culture of winning. For the first time in Everton’s history, the manager’s status is higher than the clubs.
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