At the end of the 2001-2002 season, I had a final contract meeting with AC Milan club management, just before my transfer, and this time coach Carlo Ancelotti was also there. It was my first encounter with the coach with whom I would work for eight years at the Milan club and with whom I would develop a special bond. Our relationship brought out the best in me as a player. There was mutual trust and that went beyond a simple player-coach relationship. His philosophy: he sees you first as a person and then as a footballer. As he approaches everyone he works with; something that you do not encounter with most trainers, football directors and club presidents.
Ancelotti also sees himself first as Carlo, father of two children, and only then as a football coach – that is also special. In doing so, he makes a connection with most players that naturally develops mutual respect and a shared drive to achieve success. Most players love to work under such a trainer. For such a man you like to go the extra mile to achieve a good result.
Partly thanks to his special approach, this great gentleman conquered the 35th national title with Real Madrid a week ago. A unique record: Carlo Ancelotti is the first coach to win national championships with clubs in all major European football competitions – Italy, England, France, Germany and Spain. Wherever the Italian is a coach, he conveys his game views simply and clearly and places a lot of responsibility on the players. Anyone who adopts a professional attitude can count on his trust and support.
The last season we worked together at AC Milan was 2008-2009. He left for Chelsea, but his command of English was questioned. It was already hard for him to pronounce ‘how are you’ correctly. He reported in the south of the Netherlands and followed a ten-day intensive English course. As a result, he spoke reasonable English at his first press conference in London.
Last Monday, two days before the return of the decisive semi-final in the Champions League against Manchester City, I visited Ancelotti at Valdebebas, the impressive training complex of Real Madrid. It was a warm meeting with the man who now speaks four languages. It felt like the good old days at AC Milan. Just like then we talked about football, family, life and the future. It was not a question for him whether Real would make it to the final, but where the achievement of the final would be celebrated that Wednesday evening in Madrid.
And Real impressively qualified for the final of the Champions League. The emotions that were released in the stadium with the late equalizer and the 2-1 in stoppage time cannot be described in words. Things got even more intense after Karim Benzema took advantage of his penalty in extra time and Ancelotti celebrated effusively on the field with players and training staff shortly afterwards. In that party, I was lucky enough to find a moment to congratulate this unique man with a warm embrace on his umpteenth success.
Clarence Seedorf is a former football player. Now he is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and guest speaker.
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of May 7, 2022
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