Carlo Ancelotti has a new book out that promises to dish the dirt on his times at some of Europe's biggest clubs, including AC Milan (and dealing with Silvio Berlusconi), Real Madrid (and dealing with Florentino Perez), and Chelsea (and dealing with Roman Abramovich). Some of the excerpts that had made the rounds to pique interest in the book have certainly got people talking and paying attention, as things tend to when somebody pulls back the proverbial curtain on the inner workings of football clubs and some of their most powerful people.
But while those incendiary quotes painted a picture of a most horrible place to work, in an interview for FourFourTwo Magazine's July issue, Ancelotti claims that his experience overall was fantastic and that he would have no problem coming back if ever asked.
"Did Chelsea ask me to return to the club last year? No, no. But I would have no problem going back to Chelsea. My experience with Chelsea, and in English football, was fantastic."
Before agreeing to take over at Bayern, Ancelotti had spoken of Chelsea a little bit and he didn't rule out a potential return back then either. There were even rumors of secret meetings between him and the club, though at no point did he sound quite as positive on such a possibility as he does here.
As it turned out, according to later rumors, these secret meetings were a big part of why Chelsea chose Antonio Conte. Now, Ancelotti has once again spoken favorably of his fellow Italian.
"Conte is a hard worker: really serious, really professional and always focused on his job. Chelsea are getting a top manager who will look at all the little details."
"Coming to England from Italy, he will find a different world: less pressure, no violence, a great atmosphere, full stadiums — just totally different from Italy at this moment. He can definitely be a success at Chelsea."
-Carlo Ancelotti; source: FourFourTwo
Having brought back Mourinho and then Hiddink as well in recent years, perhaps it won't be surprising to see Carlo back at some point as well. He's still just in his mid-50s, which is nothing in football management. But for now, it's the Conte show.