The All-Time greatest Carlo Ancelotti XI
Carlo Ancelotti has won the Champions League three times as a managerSuave. Sophisticated. Possessing a calm demeanour. A composed visage. Dressing so immaculate that it reeks of OCD. And, an astute footballing brain to go along with all of these. Probably the only high-profile manager in the game to tick all these boxes, it is a million dollar question as to why Carlo Ancelotti's name tops the list at the Italian Unemployment Bureau right now.While one can argue that the grey-haired 56-year old brought the siesta from the game upon himself, wrapping our heads around the fact that Florenti-"no clue"-Perez decided to sack the Italian at the end of the 2014-15 season. Carlo Ancelotti is the quintessential Italian.Having managed the likes of Reggiana, Parma and Juventus, it was at the red half of the city of Milan that he really etched his name into the history books. Nearly a decade later, and having managed the likes of Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, he’s the only manager other than the legendary Bob Paisley to have won the Champions League three times.No mean record at all, but it would definitely be fair to say that the former Rossoneri midfielder had some of the best players in the world in his ranks. How would they look, if the very best among them played as a team? Let’s see.
#1 Goalkeeper - Petr Cech
It would be no understatement to say that Petr Cech enjoyed two of the best years of his Chelsea career under Carlo Ancelotti. Winning his first and only Chelsea Player of the Year award from the Italian himself in 2011, the Chelsea No.1 was in imperious form, during the reign of the Reggiolo native.
Their time together began on the best possible note, as Cech kept out two penalties, against those familiar foes from Old Trafford in the 2009 Community Shield.
He would go on to keep a scarcely believable 17 clean sheets that season, winning him yet another Premier League Golden Glove award. He ended the season on a high, saving another penalty against Portsmouth in the FA Cup Final.
The Pompey, who have since fallen to the lowest ebb of English professional football, were treated to an absolute masterclass in goalkeeping by the man in the mask that evening. Needless to say, the relationship between the Numero Uno of the club and their No.1 was fantastic, to say the least.