Filed away in the library of Italian football’s national training centre in Coverciano is an academic essay written by Carlo Ancelotti.
It was submitted when Ancelotti was studying for his full coaching qualification in 1997, and it is entitled Il futuro del calcio. Piu dinamicita.
The future of football. More dynamism.
Roman Abramovich is unlikely to have read it, but should he ever take a slight diversion on his next visit to Florence, he would probably find it most satisfying.
I did it my way: Ancelotti sings to the fans during Chelsea¿s victory parade yesterday
He would like Ancelotti’s line about how players must have ‘great human qualities’; of how he wants to make a ‘small contribution’ to the ‘most beautiful game in the world’.
Abramovich may say it merely confirms what he already knows. That in Ancelotti he finally has a manager who believes in giving the audience, and more importantly the owner, what they want.
Who believes — as a double and the 103 goals his Chelsea team scored en route to winning this season’s Barclays Premier League title demonstrate — in attractive, attacking football.
Ancelotti made it clear after Saturday’s FA Cup victory that he would like to stay at Chelsea for 10 years.
The Italian has two more years on his contract and, while he made no suggestion that talks were imminent, he said: ‘I’m happy to sign a new contract. Stability is important and if we can work together for a long time it’s better.
‘It’s also important for the manager, because it’s not easy if you’re changing club every year. After this first season, if they asked me how long I want to stay here I would say maybe 10 years.
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'That wouldn’t be bad, especially if every season is like this season.’
In 1997, Ancelotti was the 37-year-old manager learning his trade in charge of a Parma side boasting little more than a young Gianluigi Buffon in goal. Having guided Reggiana into Serie A the previous season, he noted how the natural instinct of coaches concerned with keeping their jobs was to defend.
‘The desire to have results immediately and therefore the consequent fear of being sacked has driven managers to look hard for this particular aspect,’ writes Ancelotti in his thesis.
Double Deliverers
‘Many managers have devoted a great deal of their time to finding a solution that will be most efficient to interrupting and inhibiting the capacity of the opposition attack.
'It is difficult to find teams who, independently of having a good man-to-man or zone, do not have a good organised defence.
‘I believe that the future evolution of the game will be to improve attacking solutions, with more time dedicated to tactics but at the same time keeping a balance between defence and attack.
‘Therefore the objective for the future will be to play football that is evermore dynamic and I believe that this concept of dynamism will improve over time because the quick flow of the game, its unpredictability and variety of plays are all important weapons in the development of football.’
Educated in football at AC Milan and a member of the great side who won the European Cup in 1989 and 1990, Ancelotti really began to express himself when he then became manager at the San Siro, achieving Champions League glory in 2003 and 2007.
In particular, through the genius of Kaka. But long before then, Ancelotti knew what he wanted to deliver.
‘There is always a high demand from the public for a product that is ever more spectacular and enjoyable and that gives value for money,’ he writes.
‘Today, though, we see a high number of matches that are not enthralling or exciting.
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'The public are looking for excitement and this excitement is developed by swift solutions, offering a variety of attacks, with the ultimate aim of arriving at our target: the goal!
‘During the last few years, and especially in Italy, a lot of time has been dedicated to tactics in the game. If in the defensive phase the concept of dynamism is given to pressing and offside, in the offensive phase it is given over to movement off the ball and the speed of thought of passing.
‘To give efficiency to the game it is indispensable that movement off the ball and passing are perfectly synchronized.
'Therefore, the concepts of space and time are important for a manager in the tactics of any attacking game.
‘If, between the person who passes the ball and the person who receives it, there is no synchronisation then this concept of dynamism will be missing.’
The big one: Ancelotti with the Premier League trophy
Ancelotti’s respect for the paying fans is central to his philosophy. ‘First you have to win,’ he said last Sunday.
‘But how you win is then important.’
In Coverciano, Ancelotti communicates his vision in a stirring conclusion.
‘It is my conviction that football will have to go along the road of attack to give the spectators the excitement they are losing as a consequence of achieving results at any cost,’ he writes.
‘Managers must, above all, be given by their clubs as calm as possible a working environment. That way they can achieve their football beliefs without any excessive restrictions.
‘It is important, therefore, to devote as much time as possible to training because this will improve the quality of the team, bearing in mind that football is a team game and the No 1 role of any manager is to get his 11 players to move with as much synchronicity as possible.
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‘If football is to develop it is not just through players but also through men who have great human qualities such as a spirit of sacrifice, desire for improvement and altruism.
‘If these qualities are available, we will reach our objective more easily and can say we’ve given our small contribution to football, so that it can continue to be the most beautiful game in the world.’
If Ancelotti’s stated aims in 1997 have come to fruition, his priority now is reinforcing his squad.
‘We will speak together and take a decision on players for next season, no problem,’ he said.
Those signings will have to buy into Ancelotti’s craving for beautiful teamwork, to be enjoyed by billionaire owners and paying spectators alike.
