• Carlo Ancelotti, known for his managerial success, had a remarkable career as a player at AC Milan.

• Ancelotti's versatility and technical skills made him a crucial part of Milan's legendary team.

• Despite knee injuries, Ancelotti's contributions led Milan to multiple victories, including European Cups and Serie A titles.

It has been more than 30 years since Carlo Ancelotti began his job as a football manager, and what a career it has been. The Italian has gone onto manage some of the greatest ever club’s in football history during these 3 decades, which includes the likes of Real Madrid, AC Milan, Chelsea, PSG, Juventus, Bayern Munich, and Napoli. He is also the most successful manager in Champions League history, having won the coveted title a record 4 times as a coach. Ancelotti is also the only manager  to have ever win league titles in all of Europe’s top five leagues. All of these glorious achievements certainly make him one of the greatest managers in football history, and maybe even the very best for some. This article won’t be looking at Carlo Ancelotti the manager, but Carlo Ancelotti the player. Let us look at Carlo Ancelotti’s time at AC Milan.

Style of play

Carlo Ancelotti was a creative genius as a player, with the midfielder being known for his leadership, skill, composure on the ball, and organizational ability. He was regarded by many to be one of the finest Italian Midfielders of his generation. An aspect that Ancelotti lacked was pace, but he more than made up for it with his physical and athletic characteristics.

Even though he was fine when it came to defensive contributions, it was in attack where the Italian excelled. His excellent technical ability, passing range, and magnificent shooting skills made him a great player when it came to both scoring and assisting.

Another aspect that needs to be applauded was his immense versatility, which saw Ancelotti operate as a playmaker, winger, box-to-box midfielder, forward, and defensive midfielder in various phases of his career.

An important part of the Arrigo Sacchi era

Carlo Ancelotti was a part of AC Milan from 1987 till 1992, when the club was financially backed by then president Silvio Berlusconi. He wasn't the most popular star in that legendary Milan team, but was undoubtedly an instrumental part of their squad at the time under Arrigo Sacchi.

The legendary AC Milan at the time had the likes of Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Mauro Tassotti and Alessandro Costacurta as defenders, Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Roberto Donadoni as midfielders; and Marco van Basten upfront. It was a team of magnificent world-class players, and the team were bound to succeed.

One of Ancelotti's most successful moments for AC Milan was his magnificent long-range effort in the 1989 European Cup semi-finals, which was ironically against his current coaching club Real Madrid. AC Milan destroyed Real Madrid 5-0 in that Match, and they eventually became European Champions

After beating Steaua București in the final. Carlo Ancelotti played the whole 90 minutes in that match.

The following season saw Ancelotti suffer a knee injury during the quarter-finals of the European Cup KV Mechelen. This forced him to miss the semi-finals against Bayern Munich, but Milan were able to overcome the German giants. Carlo Ancelotti returned in time for the final against Benfica, and Milan were able to successfully retain the European Cup.

Final year at Milan

After the departure of Arrigo Sacchi, Ancelotti and Milan were able to win yet another Serie A title under new manager Fabio Capello during the 1991–92 Serie A. They also did it in dominating fashion, winning the league undefeated. Ancelotti's influence as a player was fading at this time, due to persistent knee injuries and competition from youngster Demetrio Albertini limited his playing time. All of this eventually led to the Italian being forced to premature retirement at the end of the season, at the age of 33. Carlo Ancelotti played the final match of his career for Milan in a 4–0 home win over Hellas Verona on 17 May 1992, which saw him come off the bench and score two goals. The legendary Italian was given an ovation by the fans.

That was the end of Carlo Ancelotti the player, but it was also the beginning of something greater as well. The premature retirement resulted in the birth of Carlo Ancelotti the manager, and the rest as we say is history.

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