Is Ancelotti The Right Man For Chelsea?

June 24, 2009

Is Ancelotti The Right Man For Chelsea?

Once again, there is a new manager for Chelsea. Following the departure of Mourinho, two seasons ago, during the 2007-2008 season, there has been a whirlwind of managers at Chelsea.

First it was the bungling Avram Grant, who managed to make Chelsea win, in the worst possible manner and managed to spoil their efforts at key moments. Who cannot remember the Carling Cup finals, against Totenham, where he substituted Joe Cole and brought in Alex, to beef up is defence. Sadly he had forgotten one of the basic ideas of Football, ‘Attack is the best form of defence’….
Carlo Ancelotti - Football News He, however, managed to pull Chelsea to the Champions League Finals, which Chelsea went on to lose on penalties. But, as far as I am concerned, I would say it was the exceptional leadership qualities and sheer experience and talent of the squad which pulled them through all this. Having the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Michel Ballack, who are prominent figures in their National Teams while Terry and Ballack are the captains!! I can name the whole squad, which feature in the starting 11 of their International squad.

And then came Scolari, a man who changed the way Chelsea played. He transformed them from defensive sloths to berserk attackers, who pounded on the opponent’s defense, thereby leaving their own defense…. Well what can I say….. DEFENSELESS

As they say, “Old habits die hard”, and it wasn’t long before Scolari was sacked and replaced by Guus Hiddink. And who better to lead a talented group than a man of such immense experience. And he revived the Chelsea, left for dead by Scolari. And he led them to silverware, which had been hard to see in two seasons. And he kept his prestige high, when he left Chelsea, as he had promised and didn’t succumb to the “lure of the lucre” offered by Roman Abromovich. He is now considered one of the best managers in the world.

And now, the man who comes to replace him is the veteran Carlos Ancelotti, a man who has a lot of trophies under his belt, the exact thing which Roman Abromovich wants. But as the heading of this article states, is he the right man for the post? Let’s research….

He inherited a Milan team similar to our beloved Chelsea, in 2001 which was trophy less too. He soon led them to the semi-finals of the UEFA cup. In the 2002-2003 season, he won the Champions League and Coppa Italia. In 2004 he took home the Sedducto. Moreover they were back-to-back runners up for the Serie A in 04-05 and 05-06. He also won the Champions League again in 2007.

I know all of this would sounds mouth-watering, but look deeply into the Milan side. I don’t want to be offensive but, now they have been reduced to mere veterans who seem too old and frail to play the game.

How many youngsters are there on the team? Pato, Gourcuff who is on loan, and who else? NO ONE!!! Moreover he had the guts to buy fallen hero’s like Ronaldinho and Shevchenko despite knowing the fact that he would fail miserably….

With all due credit to the players, I feel there need to be youth who can carry on a team’s legacy with due help from the seniors. This has always been the trademark of successful teams like Man U and Barca.

It’s a known fact that Chelsea has players who are no growing younger anymore, but they also have young talent who are bursting out for first team chances. They need to be nurtured and is Ancelotti the guy for it? Mancienne, Stoch, Ivanovic, di Santo are only a few names. There is more for sure. They need to be spoon fed in order to come out as the World’s best.

Moreover Ancelotti, once again seems to be going for old veterans, as he seems to be gunning for Pirlo, despite knowing the fact that Chelsea’s midfield is filled with world class talent.

So, hopefully everything will turn out to be hale and hearty for Chelsea, as they begin another season. But to prosper, patience is a key, which Abromovich seems to lack. So Ancelotti’s only chance is put results on the board.