You know how it goes. Real Madrid throw their team of Galacticos onto a pitch. Los Blancos start half-asleep and the first 15 minutes make for pretty grim watching. Maybe Madrid give up a couple of chances. They might even concede first or be generally pretty wasteful with the ball. No intensity, no passion. The murmurs start in the Santiago Bernabeu. On bad nights, they become jeers and boos. And then, it happens. Carlo Ancelotti whispers a few words to his son, Davide, and points around a bit. The singular eyebrow is raised. Suddenly, Madrid are awake. A lowly La Liga side is battered 4-1. Mini-crisis over.
It has been trendy in recent years to suggest that Carlo Ancelotti doesn't really do much as a manager. His signature "eyebrow raise" has become a meme (one easily co-opted for this very piece.) His starting XI, at the beginning of the season, featured four legitimate Ballon d'Or contenders and a bunch of so-called role players that would be stars anywhere else. How hard can managing all of this be? Tricky enough, as it turns out...
But some would argue that Ancelotti's approach is ideally suited to the international arena, which isn't really a space for overly complex tactics because of the time restrictions. It's more a place for harnessing vibes and creating the right atmosphere for an elite group of players to succeed. It makes sense, then, that Brazil are reportedly interested in securing his services once again after sacking Dorival Jr.
Ancelotti rebuffed them last summer by pledging to see out his current Madrid deal and stay at the club until at least 2026. But with the vacancy having reopened, and pieces elsewhere ready to fall into place, the time could be right for the Italian to take on the next forum of management.
