Carlo Ancelotti– One club's mistake, another one's blessing?

It is quite incredible to think that Carlo Ancelotti was one of the first managerial casualties of the season. Having won major honours at every club he has managed since taking charge of AC Milan back in 2001, the Italian master has become one of the most successful and respected coaches in the world game. However, while his status failed to keep him in gainful employment at Bayern Munich, their loss will be another clubs gain.

Like the captain of the Titanic, Ancelotti could only do so much to reverse the path of Bayern Munich as the Bavarian giants headed towards the proverbial iceberg. There was no particular catalyst to the demise, but a combination of factors that collectively manifested themselves into an irreversible period of transition.

Bayern Munich remain a European giant and the current managerial vacancy is an attractive one, but nobody can bring the club the immediate UEFA Champions League success that they crave. There are no more successful managers in Europe's premier club competition than Ancelotti, and the 3-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain that eventually brought his downfall was not through his own doing.

Of course, PSG have flexed their financial muscle this summer and are in a position to blow away any rival at Europe's top table in their quest for success. Tradition dictates that Bayern Munich should not be suffering such an embarrassment, but those that understand the wider issues at the Allianz Arena will appreciate that this is a significant time of change at the club, and that patience is needed.

Carlo Ancelotti is one of the most successful managers in UEFA Champions League history

However, patience is a rare virtue in the modern game, and not even the very best managers are allowed the time to see a long-term project through to fruition unless the circumstances are particularly exceptional.

Jose Mourinho has been trusted to revive Manchester United after a series of failed successors to Sir Alex Ferguson, while Manchester City's long-term pursuit of Pep Guardiola suggests that he is at the Etihad Stadium to stay for a while longer.

The situation across Europe's other leading clubs is very different, and that is the bracket that Ancelotti and Bayern Munich fall into. No manager is more experienced in Champions League success than Ancelotti, and that is the very trophy that he was commissioned to bring back to the club.

However, he joined the club at a significant time of transition, with the departure of certain players taking away as much of the clubs identity as they did quality.

If Ancelotti was the captain trying to reverse the slide in troubled seas, the goals of striker Robert Lewandowski were helping to plug the leak. Unfortunately, Ancelotti did not have enough able hands on the ground to stop the ship from sinking, and the rate of their demise increased as they were defeated by 1899 Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga.

Poor performances in pre-season served as a weather warning for Ancelotti and his employers, but many were blinkered in their belief that this was an unsinkable ship. Now, Willy Sagnol has been entrusted with the task of returning the club to dry land, but the same challenges will face the next managerial incumbent when the appointment is made.

Bayern Munich proved to be a tough project for Ancelotti despite domestic success

But Carlo Ancelotti no longer needs to concern himself with the fortunes or failures of Bayern Munich, as he will have bigger and better projects ahead. He has already confessed that a much-needed break from the pressure and intensity of modern-day management is needed before he accepts his next challenge, and it is an approach that has served Mourinho and Guardiola well in recent years.

The demands at the very top of the modern game have reached unprecedented levels, and even the best managers need to be at the top of their game to succeed. Ancelotti remains very much in this elite group, and there will be no shortage of offers for his services, despite the manner of his departure from Bayern Munich slightly denting his impressive reputation.

A return to English Premier League champions Chelsea has been rumoured and having won the domestic double the first of his two seasons at Stamford Bridge, many believe his sacking for finishing second the following year remains one of the club's worst decisions. Mourinho returned to Chelsea for a second time, and while it didn't end well, it showed that bridges are rarely burnt at Stamford Bridge.

Of course, Mourinho and Ancelotti are very different characters, and Ancelotti has the class and dignity to remain civil in situations of dispute. With his nature to rise above the petty actions of the modern game, Ancelotti remains highly-respected, while Mourinho continues to add to his list of professional enemies with his 'us against them' approach.

However, both are determined winners that understand what is required to succeed at the very highest level, and neither will accept anything less.

But should Carlo Ancelotti look beyond club management for his next project? He has been a manager in club football since taking charge of Reggiana back in July 1995, but 2018 is a World Cup year, and how much impact and influence could a refreshed and rested Ancelotti have should the opportunity arise to take charge of the right national team by the time the tournament in Russia comes around?

The great Vittoria Pozzo won the World Cup with Italy in 1934 and 1938, Enzo Bearzot repeated the feat in 1982, and Marcello Lippi guided Italy to success in 2006. Veteran figure Gian Piero Ventura is currently in the Italian hot-seat having replaced Antonio Conte last summer, and while he has recently signed a contract extension to 2020, Ancelotti understands as much as anyone that such agreements are rarely kept in the modern game.

Marcello Lippi is one of three Italian managers to experience World Cup success

Ancelotti will turn 59 when the 2018 World Cup begins, and Pozzo, Bearzot and Lippi were all of a fairly similar age when they experienced their greatest international successes. This is the perfect time for Ancelotti to contemplate a switch to international management, and while he may not have the opportunity with his native Italy, there are likely to be plenty of alternative and viable options from around the world by the time the tournament comes around.

Carlo Ancelotti did not become a bad manager at Bayern Munich. He remains one of the greatest of his generation, and he is still young enough to experience much more success. The World Cup is a medal missing from his decorated career as both a player and as a manager, and while he may still crave the day-to-day involvement, the decision that he makes about his future on his upcoming sabbatical could prove to be as important and defining as anything that he has already achieved.