Proven winner: Ancelotti eyes the Champions League
trophy in Athens after gaining revenge over Liverpool
Roman Abramovich has identified Carlo Ancelotti as the
next manager of Chelsea after conceding he will not be able to keep
Guus Hiddink at Stamford Bridge beyond the end of this
season.
Abramovich has informed Chelsea’s
players of the political complications in trying to extract Hiddink
permanently from his role as coach of Russia before next year’s
World Cup. The players stunned their Russian billionaire owner by
urging him to bring back Jose Mourinho.
But Abramovich is in no mood to do that, and according to
sources in Italy has instead opted for Ancelotti, a 49-year-old
Italian who has guided Milan to two European Cups and a
Serie A title in eight
years at the San Siro.
Ancelotti’s deal with Milan ends this summer and Sportsmail understands the terms of a
three-year deal with Chelsea have already been discussed.
The Milan boss’s lack of English has concerned some Stamford
Bridge officials but Abramovich wanted Ancelotti before he
eventually turned to Luiz Felipe Scolari last summer and this time
he is determined to get his man.
Poor choice: Scolari's star faded at Chelsea after
a lightning start
Last year Ancelotti confirmed that an approach had been
made to him prior to Scolari’s appointment, but that he had opted
to stay at Milan. Since then, however, the situation at Milan has
changed.
His employers were prepared to sell Brazilian superstar Kaka to
Manchester
City three months ago in a world record £100million deal
and yesterday Real Madrid president Florentino Perez vowed to lure
the Brazilian to the Bernabeu this summer if he is re-elected.
Milan’s apparent lack of ambition and the power and influence of
the Barclays Premier League now look like being enough to change
Ancelotti’s mind, giving club owner Abramovich the manager he
wanted all along.
Hiddink has impressed Chelsea’s players. He has restored some
discipline to the side, even limiting his team-talks to no more
than 12 minutes so he can hold their
attention.
He tells players to leave the training pitch if, in his opinion,
they are not working hard
enough and his tough new regime has clearly revived a team that was
floundering under Scolari.
But Abramovich has now realised it will be impossible to retain
the Dutchman, even though he has rescued a Russian federation which
was in financial meltdown and paid Hiddink’s wages.
As one source put it last night: ‘It is not worth incurring the
wrath of the political machine in Russia over a football manager. I
think the feeling in Russia is that the oligarchs need to be
putting something back in rather than taking even more away.’
Once made aware of the situation, the players did suggest
Abramovich go back for Mourinho and rescue him from what is proving
a unhappy stay at Inter Milan.
But Mourinho went because of a breakdown in his relationship
with Abramovich, leaving Ancelotti as the top Chelsea
target.