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One of the greatest managers of all time, Carlo Ancelotti has managed in almost all the top leagues across Europe and has been successful wherever he has taken over. Having coached the likes of Parma, Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea, PSG, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in his long and successful career, the Italian tactician has truly worked with some of the greatest players to ever play the game.
A Champions League winner at AC Milan and Madrid, Ancelotti has won multiple league titles, domestic cups and European trophies making him one of the modern day greats. Without much ado, let us take a look at the 10 greatest players to have played under the legendary Italian:
#10 Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
One of Chelsea's greatest players of all time, Frank Lampard played under Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea from 2009-2011. The attacking midfielder played an integral role in Chelsea's first league and cup double in 2010 scoring 25 goals in that season.
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Known for his late runs into the box, Lampard used to pop up in attacking positions on many occasions often scoring crucial goals and turning the tide in Chelsea's favour. Having won plenty of matches singlehandedly for the Blues, the midfielder is still remembered fondly by the Stamford Bridge faithful.
A prolific goalscorer and playmaker rolled into one, Lampard undoubtedly played a crucial role in Carlo Ancelotti's success at Chelsea. Lampard, during the years 2009-2011 was arguably the best midfielder in the Premier League.
27 goals for a midfielder in a single season is simply incredible!
#9 Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
One of Chelsea's biggest heroes and one of the greatest strikers of this generation, Didier Drogba was another excellent player who had one of his best seasons at Chelsea under Carlo Ancelotti during the 2009/10 double season.
Finishing as golden boot winner (2 ahead of second place Rooney) in the Premier League in 2009/10, Drogba terrorised opposition defenders with his physicality, brute strength and incredible positioning skills. Perfectly suited to Chelsea's style of play, the Ivory Coast forward was an ideal target man and one of the most important players for the Blues both on and off the pitch.
Drogba capped off his excellent season by scoring in the FA Cup final against Portsmouth, thus ending the season on a high and cementing his legacy as one of the greatest forwards of the Premier League era.
#8 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain)
Paris Saint-Germain are one of the biggest clubs in Europe today and they owe much of their current standing to Carlo Ancelotti and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Italian who took over from Antoine Kombouare in 2011 spent just one and a half seasons at the French capital, but he managed to guide them to their first Ligue 1 title since 1994 in the 2012/13 season.
Key to PSG's success was Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The big Swede who was bought from AC Milan proved to be an immediate success, plundering goals for fun and winning the Ligue 1 golden boot easily. In fact, at times the French league looked like it was too easy for Zlatan as the legendary striker often made a mockery of defences and scored some truly spectacular goals.
Even legendary French striker Jean-Pierre Papin could not stop gushing about the big Swede. Speaking in 2012, the Frenchman said;
"We haven't had a goalscorer like him in France for a long time. He is on a different planet to anyone else."
Zlatan Ibrahimovic certainly played a crucial role in Ancelotti's success at PSG.
Sit back and enjoy some Zlatan magic
#7 Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan)
An AC Milan legend, Andriy Shevchenko was one of the most prolific strikers in European football. At his prime, the Ukranian striker was capable of tearing apart opposition defences single-handedly.
The striker had his most successful years in AC Milan where his goalscoring prowess guided the Italian club to multiple league titles and the Champions League title in 2003. Shevchenko at his peak was so good that he won the Ballon d’Or award ahead of Barcelona legends Deco and Ronaldinho in 2004.
Ancelotti had his most successful and lengthy spell at AC Milan and Shevchenko was undoubtedly a star performer for the Italian's side. In 2006, the Ukranian made a move to Chelsea. Shevchenko struggled to make much of an impact at the London club and he finally called time on his stellar career in his hometown club of Dynamo Kyiv in 2012.
#6 Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)
Italian maestro Andrea Pirlo is another great footballer who Ancelotti managed at AC Milan. One of the most sublime passers of the ball, Pirlo's lazy elegance along with his intelligence and unparalleled passing range made him an absolute joy to watch on the pitch.
Capable of playing several different midfield positions, Pirlo was often employed as a deep-lying playmaker under Carlo Ancelotti. Known for splitting the opposition defence with his brilliant and accurate through balls, Pirlo won two Champions Leagues and a Serie A title under Ancelotti at AC Milan.
AC Milan at their prime was one of the best teams to ever play the game and Pirlo was the brains of that spectacular Milan side. Ancelotti, when asked about Pirlo's brilliance, had this to say:
"Pirlo spots a pass in a split-second that lesser players could spend a whole lifetime waiting to see."
Quite simply put, Andrea Pirlo is one of the greatest midfielders of this generation.
#5 Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid and Bayern Munich)
One of the best defensive midfielders to ever play the game, Xabi Alonso has been successful wherever he has played, be it in the Premier League with Liverpool, or the La Liga with Real Madrid or the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich or the Spanish national team.
A complete, consistent, hardworking and versatile midfielder, Alonso is capable of contributing both defensively and offensively. Although primarily a defensive midfielder, Xabi Alonso has scored plenty of crucial goals for his side with stunning free-kicks, long-range screamers and penalties.
Having won the Champions League with Real Madrid and Ancelotti in 2014, the legendary Spaniard moved to Bayern Munich where he was reunited again with the Italian tactician in 2016. Alonso played a crucial role in Bayern's Munich's 2016/17 Bundesliga title before calling time on his spectacular career.
Xabi Alonso was a player who dictated the pace of the game and the Spaniard is quite rightly considered to be one of the best defensive playmakers of all time.
#4 Kaka (AC Milan)
Brazil superstar Ricardo Kaka is the last player other than Messi and Ronaldo to win the prestigious Ballon d'Or award. During his spell at AC Milan, Kaka was quite simply the best attacking midfielder on the planet.
Capable of gliding past opponents effortlessly, Kaka was excellent at picking out incisive passes and always had a knack of scoring crucial goals. The Brazilan’s finest season was arguably the 2006/07 season when he almost single-handedly inspired Milan to the Champions League title in 2007.
Kaka reached the absolute zenith of his career under Carlo Ancelotti and even after his retirement, he is still one of the most popular and loved footballers in the world. Kaka's style of play oozed class and it was always a pleasure watching the immensely talented Brazilian on the pitch.
His impact on the game could be seen by Ronaldinho's quotes on Kaka:
"For two, maybe three seasons [at Milan] he was the best player in the world, there was nothing he couldn’t do."
There was nothing Kaka could not do at AC Milan:
#3 Zinedine Zidane (Juventus)
Current Real Madrid manager Zidane first burst onto the European scene as a precociously talented playmaker at Juventus. Ancelotti managed Juventus from 1999-2001 and Zidane was undoubtedly the standout player of that Juventus side.
Although Ancelotti did not have his usual success at Juve, Zidane still mesmerised with his stunning performances in the 'number 10' role, even winning the Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year in 2001. In fact, Carlo Ancelotti who preferred playing in a rigid 4-4-2 system even changed his tactics to allow Zidane to play in the attacking midfielder position he so craved to play.
Although Zidane and Ancelotti could only win an Intertoto Cup at Juventus, the Frenchman's skill, class and obvious talent provided plenty of joy to Serie A and Juventus fans. Zidane's then Juve team-mate Edgar Davids best summarised Zidane's style of play:
"He is a special player. He creates space where there is none. No matter where he gets the ball or how it comes to him, he can get out of trouble. His imagination and his technique are amazing"
#2 Paolo Maldini (AC Milan)
AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini’s inclusion in this list is a no-brainer, The Italian played an astonishing 25 seasons of his career at the same club – AC Milan and he won the Champions League five times with the Italian giants! (winning two of them with Ancelotti in 2003 and 2007)
A complete defender, Maldini had excellent stamina, tackling skills and positional awareness, He was also a top-notch crosser of the ball and he provided plenty of assists during his legendary career.
Enjoying some of his most successful years under Ancelotti, the Italian legend was a true leader for Milan both on and off the pitch. Probably Ancelotti's most trusted payer in his entire managerial career, Maldini is undoubtedly one of the greatest players of all time.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Was there any doubt as to who would be heading this list? Cristiano Ronaldo with his grit and determination along with his supreme talent has become the single most recognisable name in world football today. Playing under Carlo Ancelotti from 2013-2015, Ronaldo hit peak form under the Italian winning back-to-back Ballon d'Or awards in 2013 and 2014.
Ancelotti is fondly remembered in Madrid for helping win La Decima and Cristiano Ronaldo was undoubtedly the Italian manager's most important player during that particular campaign. Breaking all kind of goalscoring records, Ronaldo led from the front and always seemed to score when it mattered the most.
A once in a generation type of player, Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the greatest player to have played under Carlo Ancelotti. In fact, in an excellent article on The Telegraph, Ancelotti wrote:
"He is a pleasure to manage. We all know about the work he puts in to be so strong and his perfectionism on the training ground when it comes to technique. The boy lived for the game – everything else was built to fit around it"
Talent with skill and dedication can take you places and Cristiano Ronaldo is definitely a prime example of that.
Honourable mentions: Clarence Seedorf, Robert Lewandowski, John Terry and Sergio Ramos.
Note - Ronaldo Nazario was not included on this list as he only played half a season under Ancelotti at AC Milan.
