Former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti returns to the Premier League exactly where he exited

As the decade began so it ends, at least as far as Carlo Ancelotti’s employment is concerned.

The 60-year-old legend of world football is back in the Premier League after being appointed as Everton’s new head coach yesterday, over eight years after getting sacked by Chelsea following a game against, you guessed it, Everton.

It’s an almost poetic return for Uncle Carlo. Just minutes after the final whistle of the 2010-11 season, he was sacked in the Goodison tunnels as a 1-0 defeat to Everton put the final disappointing touch on a title defense that had gone awry long before — it was resurrected in the spring until we couldn’t get past Manchester United in either the league or in Europe. The sacking itself wasn’t too shocking, the circumstances and the timing were.

On Saturday, Ancelotti was back at Goodison, watching his new team draw 0-0 with another newly appointed manager, Mikel Arteta at Arsenal.

Everton doesn’t seem like the most obvious choice for Carlo, who made his name in getting some of football’s biggest and most expensive squads/egos to work together successfully, but perhaps this new challenge is precisely what he needs to rediscover his world-class golden touch.

Best of luck, Mr. Ancelotti!