Real Madrid Transfer News 2015: 4 Reasons Why Firing Carlo Ancelotti Was a Mistake
Carlo Ancelotti is no longer the coach of Real Madrid. The team made the decision of firing the Italian official on Monday, ending speculation about what would happen after a failed season.
Ancelotti guided Real Madrid to its first multi-trophy season in decades during the 2013-14 campaign when the club managed to win the Champions League and Copa del Rey. The last time the team had managed to win two of the Champions League, Copa del Rey or League title was 1988-89 when it won the League and the European Cup in the same season. The team has accomplished the feat 15 times, but seven of those occasions came prior to 1936.
Because of that successful season, Ancelotti was expected to deliver more in 2014-15, and early on the team looked like the best in the world, knocking off 22 straight wins all the way through the end of 2014.
However, a poor start to 2015 coupled with a Barcelona revival pushed Madrid off its pedestal and ultimately left the team with no trophies to enjoy this summer.
Now the question beckons: Was it the right move?
In this writer's opinion the answer is an emphatic no.
And here are reasons why.
Strong System
Under Ancelotti, Real Madrid had developed a strong possession system that saw the offense explode with wild abandon. Ronaldo scored more goals than he has ever scored for Madrid. James Rodriguez flourished. Even Isco, who many saw as mistreated under Ancelotti, played the best soccer anyone has seen from him.
Toni Kroos may have played out of position, but he did a fantastic job overall.
For half of the year Real Madrid looked unstoppable. The reality is that they were. They could control possession well and still strike efficiently on the counter.
That obviously brings about the question of what exactly happened that the team fell apart in 2015? That is actually another reason why Ancelotti should never have been abandoned so soon.
Injuries
Ancelotti suffered few major injuries in 2013-14 and was thus allowed to field his best possible squad for most of the season. Losing Xabi Alonso early on was an issue to be sure, but once the Spaniard returned to the lineup, Ancelotti was able to strike gold and find the balance needed to win the Champions League and Copa del Rey.
In 2014-15 he had his team clicking into gear until he suffered a plethora of injuries. First it was Luka Modric. Then James Rodriguez. Then Sergio Ramos. And eventually Karim Benzema.
Part of that was his overusing certain pieces too much, but it is likely the team would have continued its torrid form if these players would have been able to remain healthy.
Which bring us to...
Lack of Depth
Ancelotti made mistakes with his management of players. That is impossible to overlook.
Yet few would agree that Ancelotti was behind the move for James Rodriguez. Or the departure of Angel Di Maria. Or the departure of Xabi Alonso. Or even the arrival of Keylor Navas for that matter.
There are a lot of things that fans will never fully know, but that certain players arrived at Madrid because of a certain president's appetite for Galacticos is as close to common knowledge as it gets.
Obviously some of these transfers worked out well, but the losses incurred might have been greater overall. Losing Alonso and di Maria stripped the team of options off the bench. Losing Alonso meant stunting Asier Illarramendi's development and essentially ending his Madrid career.
Losing di Maria and Alonso meant losing a certain balance that had been achieved with Modric.
Who knows how this ultimately works out, but what Madrid wound up with at the end of the line was a far more shallow lineup.
Ancelotti would likely have sought out a means to correct this in the offseason, probably giving him a better chance in the third season of his tenure.
It never came to fruition and now another coach is going to have to come in and figure the whole mess out.
Players' Support
The fact that so many players have come to support Ancelotti speaks volumes of the respect he attained in the locker room. For any coach that is a tough task and Jose Mourinho's tenure and exit were marred by run-ins with his players.
Part of a coach's job, aside from strategy, is managing players and Ancelotti certainly did a strong job in that department. It allowed most of his stars to flourish.
Who knows what the next coach can bring? What if he is a great strategist but his interpersonal skills are woeful and thus lose his players' support quickly?
These are professionals expected to do their jobs, but they are also humans that needed to be placed in an environment where they feel that they are being allowed to flourish. Superstars are an even more special case as their egos have to be massaged on occasion. Having someone capable of doing that goes a long way.
Ancelotti knew how to do that. The next coach will have a tough act to follow.