Ancelotti: How Abramovich pursued me
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AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti has revealed he held two meetings with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich last year.
The Russian billionaire was on the lookout for a new man at the helm after Avram Grant was sacked following disappointment in the Premier League title race and Champions League final.
Abramovich eventually turned to World Cup winner Luiz Felipe Scolari, but he now finds himself chasing the Italian once again.
"I'm already in Paris going to Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea - who's looking for a new manager," Ancelotti said in his book Preferisco La Coppa, which was launched in Italy on Tuesday.
"We've already seen each other once, a couple of weeks ago. In Switzerland, in a big hotel in Geneva. I don't remember the name.
"I was on holiday relaxing after the bitterness of failing to qualify for the Champions League with Milan.
"Abramovich came after me, it's a good sign but how many bodyguards!
"We sat down and greeted each other cordially and started to talk. Always about football and only football. Abramovich wanted to know everything about me, my way of working, my philosophy. He was and is still looking for a team with a precise identity: 'Like Manchester United, Liverpool, Milan, certainly not like my Chelsea.'
"While he was talking, my curiosity perked up. He wasn't the monster that papers painted him to be.
"The first thing I noticed was his timidity. The second his great knowledge of football. The third his hunger, his bulimia: 'Dear Ancelotti, I want to win everything. Everything.'
"An hour flew by during which we never talked about money."
After meeting with Abramovich a second time, Ancelotti immediately made one thing clear: "I have a contract with Milan. An eventual agreement with Chelsea can only happen if Milan is also in agreement.
"Again, we only talked football. How would I make Chelsea play in case they got me as a manager.
"I tell him, 'President, your team is very physical, you have to put more quality in the middle of the pitch. I gave him two names, Franck Ribéry and Xabi Alonso.'
"He thought of a third name, that of Andriy Shevchenko, who was close to his heart. 'I can't understand why he's not playing, because since we brought him to England he's not the real Sheva.'
"'President, I can't know the reason. We talk some more. I can easily chat with Abramovich. He doesn't make me feel uncomfortable, not even when he says with a low voice: 'We've just lost the Champions League final, and the league, I can't be satisfied.
'Chelsea don't have a personality. I have the ambition of winning every competition in which my team takes part, a team that at the moment I don't recognise.'
"He thinks so much about the results and the beautiful game. Another 40 minutes fly by. 'Thanks Ancelotti, we'll meet again.' No financial offer."
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The Russian billionaire was on the lookout for a new man at the helm after Avram Grant was sacked following disappointment in the Premier League title race and Champions League final.
Abramovich eventually turned to World Cup winner Luiz Felipe Scolari, but he now finds himself chasing the Italian once again.
"I'm already in Paris going to Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea - who's looking for a new manager," Ancelotti said in his book Preferisco La Coppa, which was launched in Italy on Tuesday.
"We've already seen each other once, a couple of weeks ago. In Switzerland, in a big hotel in Geneva. I don't remember the name.
"I was on holiday relaxing after the bitterness of failing to qualify for the Champions League with Milan.
"Abramovich came after me, it's a good sign but how many bodyguards!
"We sat down and greeted each other cordially and started to talk. Always about football and only football. Abramovich wanted to know everything about me, my way of working, my philosophy. He was and is still looking for a team with a precise identity: 'Like Manchester United, Liverpool, Milan, certainly not like my Chelsea.'
"While he was talking, my curiosity perked up. He wasn't the monster that papers painted him to be.
"The first thing I noticed was his timidity. The second his great knowledge of football. The third his hunger, his bulimia: 'Dear Ancelotti, I want to win everything. Everything.'
"An hour flew by during which we never talked about money."
After meeting with Abramovich a second time, Ancelotti immediately made one thing clear: "I have a contract with Milan. An eventual agreement with Chelsea can only happen if Milan is also in agreement.
"Again, we only talked football. How would I make Chelsea play in case they got me as a manager.
"I tell him, 'President, your team is very physical, you have to put more quality in the middle of the pitch. I gave him two names, Franck Ribéry and Xabi Alonso.'
"He thought of a third name, that of Andriy Shevchenko, who was close to his heart. 'I can't understand why he's not playing, because since we brought him to England he's not the real Sheva.'
"'President, I can't know the reason. We talk some more. I can easily chat with Abramovich. He doesn't make me feel uncomfortable, not even when he says with a low voice: 'We've just lost the Champions League final, and the league, I can't be satisfied.
'Chelsea don't have a personality. I have the ambition of winning every competition in which my team takes part, a team that at the moment I don't recognise.'
"He thinks so much about the results and the beautiful game. Another 40 minutes fly by. 'Thanks Ancelotti, we'll meet again.' No financial offer."
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Related links:
Team
Personal
Also see:
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