Carlo Ancelotti gave a lecture at the “Mexico Siglo XXI” event of the Telmex Foundation, owned by Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, during which he reviewed his career and explained the keys to his success to an audience of businessmen.
Coaching debut: “I didn’t always think about becoming a coach. One day, in Milan, Sacchi told me: ‘The day you stop playing, I’d like you to be my assistant’. He was a football genius. He changed the methodology. He was a great teacher. He taught me a lot, like Eriksson. The important thing is knowledge. When you start out, you don’t have experience. You can’t buy it. It comes with time, but not knowledge. Passion and curiosity are important. There is always something to learn.”
Difficulties of the job: “I meet them every day. It’s a job with a lot of power and responsibility. I can choose the time I train, who I train, but at the end of the day it’s a relationship between people. That’s the most important thing. Sometimes I ask the players ‘who are you’ and they say ‘I’m a footballer’. I say ‘No, you’re a person who plays football’. I try to have a personal and professional relationship, because the professional relationship is more fruitful. That’s what I try to do. It’s not easy because the player always wants to play. And 11 do, but 15 go to watch the game. That’s the most complicated part. But if you can have a good personal relationship, it helps you work better.”
His proximity to the players: “You have to be honest with people. I built my character by surrounding myself with calm people. For the choice to be honest, you have to be honest too.”
Transmitting leadership: “It is very difficult to explain how a leader should be. It is much more important to convince than to impose. A leader must have the ability to listen to those who work with him. They can always give you ideas that can help you. It is important to listen and not to think that you know everything because you are the leader. You can always learn.”
Cristiano Ronaldo: “He was and continues to be a great professional. One of the best of all time. A legend, a great professional and an example. He was a fantastic teammate, very much appreciated by others.”
Bringing together great players like Mbappé, Rodrygo, Vinicius: “Real Madrid has very high demands because it is the biggest club in the world. It has the greatest players. You have to be able to put their quality at the service of the club. That’s what we try to do every year. This year, newcomers like Kylian and Endrick are adapting very well. We are going to have a great season playing in all the competitions. Winning is very complicated, but the duty we have is to be competitive in every game. You must never give up and fight until the end. That’s what you have to do when you wear this shirt.”
Feelings about victory and defeat:
“Defeat is a moment of sadness but also an opportunity to try to improve things. You have to get back up, like in life. Victory is not real happiness. I see it as a relief because three days later, there is another test. Criticism can quickly come back. And criticism bothers you when you are not able to criticize yourself. If you do, criticism fades into the background.”
Critiques : “You have to have a clear idea of what you have to do. It’s important to listen to your assistant, the player… A life without pressure or a little stress doesn’t exist. Not too much stress, but a little, it’s fuel. The day I no longer feel excited before a match, that’s the day I have to stop. Before a match, there’s worry, there’s a negative feeling thinking that it’s not going to go well, that we’re going to get a goal… When the match starts, everything stops. You have to find calm to manage the situations in the match.”
Pre-match stress: “Three or four hours before the match, there is always this sweating, the heart races, the negative thoughts come. It is always the same thing… It is the loneliness of the coach, who cannot share it with anyone. It is an individual thing. I cannot share it. My family and my wife help me, support me… but the difficulties are something individual that I manage well.”
Professional and personal success:
“It’s hard to say what success is. For you, it’s winning a title or not going under. For me, success is giving it your all. Getting the best out of yourself mentally or physically.”
How long will he be a coach: “I see myself coaching for a long time, yes. I will continue until the flame I have for football burns out.”
A life of football: “There have been great things and difficult times. My life has been normal. I have been lucky to do a job that I am passionate about. I thank football for giving me this chance.”
A calm coach: “On the bench, you always have to be positive, because you have to talk to the players. It’s not true that I’m always calm. I rarely get angry, but when I do, I go crazy. The horse has two ways of moving forward: with the whip or with the carrot. You have to choose. If you hit him with the whip, he can hit you from behind, while if you give him the carrot, he helps you.”
Ancelotti’s celebrations: “I like to dance, sing, have fun with my family and friends. It’s important to choose the right moment to sing. And I only sing when we win titles and in a stadium. I think I smoked a cigar once in my life, and it was on the bus with the players. I’ve never smoked cigars, but now I have a house full of cigars as gifts. It’s like chewing gum, which people always give me and which I only take during matches.”
