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Although I spend a lot of sleepless nights watching football games, I happen to spend my time reading books in my spare time. Quite recently, in a lazy afternoon when there was no other football related activity to keep me busy, I stumbled upon Carlo Ancelottis autobiography,The Beautiful Games of an Ordinary Genius.Being a Chelsea supporter, I followed Ancelotti, or Carletto as he is fondly known as, quite closely. He eventually etched his name in the clubs history by winning their first Premier League and FA Cup double in the 2009/10 season. In the Russian era where being a Chelsea manager was very risky, Ancelotti survived two long years. He published his autobiography just after the double winning season with Chelsea.Although Ancelotti is one of the well behaved managers in front of the media and acts like a gentleman on and off the pitch, reading his autobiography makes you feel like hes a different person altogether a quite jolly one at that.I really enjoyed the book and I believe its a masterpiece in football. Its so hilarious that you may have tears running down your eyes, just because Carletto made you laugh so much.Here are the best quotes from the book.
#1 Carlo the Teddy
(After losing a game to a Serie B side) “He turned beet red, and sitting next to him was Adriano Galliani, wearing a bright yellow tie. Together they looked like a rainbow. Two days later, he came and asked us to forgive him, because he could never be mean through and through. He’s a teddy bear, deep down. The secret of our track record is the fact that he’s a regular guy.”
This is a quote by Paolo Maldini, who wrote the foreword. He talks about how Ancelotti was a dear friend, in addition to being a coach. He says that Carletto was the wind that made him flutter! This quote just proves what we already know about Ancelotti – he is a wonderful guy.
#2 The Captain of All Captains
“John Terry is the captain of all team captains, he was born with the captain’s armband on his arm. Even without the band, it’s as if he wears it anyway, and that’s how it ought to be. He’s different from all the others, Chelsea is his home, it always has been, ever since the youth squad. One word from him, and the locker room holds its breath.
“He’s the first one to sit down at meals, the first one to stand up. Outside, he is the first, in the absolute sense of the term. Being part of this club is his mission, that’s how he was made. He pays close attention to the performances of the youngest players in the youth team, he keeps up, he knows all the scores, he misses nothing (although he often loses at ping-pong in the dining room—and when that happens, watch out).
“He works twice as hard as everyone else, he has the sense of responsibility of someone who runs a company, a people, a philosophy that above all has to win. There is no room for second place; there can only be room for us.”
When Terry was stripped of his England captaincy in February 2010 by the English FA, Ancelotti stood by his captain as Chelsea went on to win the Premier League and FA Cup double. This quote just proves how highly Carletto thinks of his captain.
#3 Another Spice Girls Reunion Tour
“One evening, while he was playing for AC Milan, I invited Beckham to dinner in a restaurant in Parma. By the end of the evening, he refused to leave the restaurant. I kept insisting, and he kept pleading with me, ‘Please, one more course.’
“At one point I considered calling the police – handcuffs would certainly have stopped him from cramming any more tortellini into his mouth. In the end, I managed to convince him with these words: ‘Look, David, if we don’t leave this restaurant right now, I’m going to arrange another Spice Girls reunion tour.’”
Ancelotti has described his relationships with many of his players – Kaka, Zidanne, Seedorf, Maldini. But, this is perhaps the most hilarious incident with one of his players.
#4 A rib-eye steak that canot sing
“Only once in my life have I felt like I needed a psychiatrist. I was looking at Yuri Zhirkov, but all I could see was a rib-eye steak. Perfectly grilled, juicy, smoking, medium rare. I looked him in the eye and suddenly I was starving.”
One of Ancelotti’s first signings as a Chelsea manager was Yuri Zhirkov, dubbed the Russian Ronaldinho. A ritual in Chelsea is that a new signing has to perform a song on the karaoke night and it was time for Zhirkov to sing during the pre season through the US. He continues:-
“A Russian midfielder with a host of talents and just one shortcoming: he can’t sing. He just makes a lot of noise. But now he was going to have to sing. It was his moment. If you want to join the team, it’s not enough just to sign a contract.”
#5 On how much he loves tortellini
“One evening at the San Siro, I was continuing to field Clarence Seedorf, and some of the fans in the stands were voicing their disagreement, one gentleman louder than the others: ‘Go back to Parma and pig out on tortellini.’
‘And you go f*ck yourself.’
“He was screaming in Italian, and I replied in proper French. I wasn’t defending Seedorf, it’s just that I can’t stand by and watch someone insult a perfectly good plate of tortellini.”
Ancelotti has made it no secret that he loves food. At one point, he mentions his delight once his playing career was cut short by injuries – just because it marked the end of any eating restrictions.
