Ancelotti, at the stake

The season is getting ready for its fifth classic, one more if we count the one last summer in Las Vegas, but it is already known who will lose it: Ancelotti. Outplayed by Xavi in ​​their last clashes, the theory of the old book, the one that dismissed Del Bosque with intemperate boxes the day after winning the League in 2003, trumps the legacy of the Italian, who surprised with his desire to make love before the sirens of the Brazilian team. Neither the experience of the old gambler, nor the glitter on the bench he is sitting on, nor the challenges that remain for him until June 10, when he hopes for the Champions League final, did not encourage the coach to violently respond to the rumors about his arrival in Canarinho. “I love it and it makes me very excited,” he replied like a child who got his first toy.

With a contract for another season, no one remembers his grandfatherly wisdom to win the Champions League double last season, when he turned all rivals upside down in Europe. At the time, no one considered his handling of the eternal midfield trident consisting of Casemiro, Kroos and Modrić to be a problem, nor was he appalled by the magic wand he used to transform Benzema into a Ballon d’Or scorer. , not like those slate pancakes.

But in this bonfire of vanity that is football, everyone seems to have had enough of his character (once calm, now lazy), his tone (always friendly but perhaps overly timid) and the common sense he displays (which would hide his lack of orders). If he follows the path of the marquis, who later led the Spanish team to unprecedented heights, a congratulatory period will have to open for Neymar, Vinicius and company, one step closer to winning the 2026 World Cup.