Remembering when Carlo Ancelotti picked his all-time XI from players he managed

Carlo Ancelotti made history on Saturday as he became the only manager ever to win the first division in each of Europe’s top five leagues.

It’s a truly staggering achievement that has been the culmination of a magnificent journey across the top echelons of European football.

After officially retiring as a player in 1992, Ancelotti joined the Italian national team as Arrigo Sacchi’s assistant manager.

Under Sacchi – one of the most tactically brilliant managers to ever grace the beautiful game – Ancelotti learnt from the very best.

By the time he left the Azzuri in 1995, Ancelotti was more than ready to establish his own legacy in the managerial world.

Over the following 27 years, Don Carlo has taken charge of a host of Europe’s greatest institutions: Juventus (1999-2001), AC Milan (2001-2009), Chelsea (2009-2011), Paris Saint-Germain (2012-2013), Real Madrid (2013-2015 & 2021-present), Bayern Munich (2016-2017) and Napoli (2018-2019) amongst others.

It really is a stunning CV.

Now, it goes without saying that working at such clubs has given Ancelotti unrivalled access to some of the greatest players the world of football has ever borne to witness to.

And to celebrate him making history with Real Madrid over the weekend, we thought it would be fitting to revisit when the man himself named his greatest all-time XI of Ancelotti players.

Don Carlo & with the boys. pic.twitter.com/SW2dslur6u

Quick disclaimer: Ancelotti purposely omitted players from Everton, Napoli, Bayern and Real Madrid when making this list – so don’t blow your top when you don’t see Cristiano Ronaldo.

But never fear, we have also created our very own adapted version that includes all of the finest players to have come under Ancelotti’s umbrella