The calm and carefree Italian, Carlo Ancelotti, whose return to Real Madrid has been as harmonious as it has been successful, will get the jitters before Saturday’s Champions League final against Liverpool.No manager has reached as many Champions League finals as Ancelotti’s five, with the 62-year-old winning three of his previous four, the first with AC Milan almost two decades ago, back in 2003.But experience has not made the build-up to the biggest games any easier.”The most stressful moment is always in the three or four hours before the game. It’s a physical thing and I’ve struggled with it a bit more this season,” Ancelotti said at a press conference on Tuesday, a smile coming across his face.”There is a lot of sweating, the heart beats faster and those negative thoughts creep in. Believe me, there is no tablet or medicine you can take. You just have to put up with it.”As Ancelotti spoke, journalists laughed and shortly after, the players laughed too, Ancelotti beginning his training session at Valdebebas with a short speech, the squad huddled round, applauding as it finished.”For now it’s about enjoying it,” said Ancelotti. “We are calm, they are calm. Everyone is happy, there is a good atmosphere.”As we get closer to the match there will be all the other things, some nerves, which is all very normal. Today it’s just about really looking forward to playing in another final.”Real Madrid and Liverpool are ready to fight for the Champions League title on Saturday 💪🏆 pic.twitter.com/u31WQUZMqo— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 24, 2022 Ancelotti’s ability to manage and motivate players means his tactical nous perhaps get overlooked.Real Madrid won La Liga with four games to spare, finishing 13 points ahead of Barcelona. In the early months, Ancelotti successfully fixed Madrid’s defence, which had been ripped apart after the departures of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane.He found a way of playing that unleashed Vinicius Junior, the 21-year-old Brazilian, who he said had “a motorbike in his boots” and who this season has been one of the deadliest forwards in the world.He unashamedly played deeper, which suited Vinicius and Karim Benzema on the break, and accommodated a classy but ageing midfield.”(Jurgen) Klopp and (Thomas) Tuchel, the German school of tactics, they have brought more intensity in recent years,” Ancelotti said.”I don’t think I’m from an older generation, I watch the changes in football, what is happening and what will happen next.”But the most important thing is the characteristics of the players you have. It’s about what’s in front of you, not what’s in your head.”You can’t press with a striker who is fat.”Sat 22:00: (2.20) Liverpool (3.50) Real Madrid (3.50)Yet Real Madrid’s success this season has come less from the system or the style than Ancelotti’s connection with the players. Every controversy has come and gone, the player and team always put ahead of his own ego and reputation.When Toni Kroos showed his frustration at being substituted, Ancelotti said “he got annoyed with the manager not the man”.When Real Madrid were thrashed at home by Barcelona, he said: “We have to keep perspective, we can’t lose our heads.”Even the sidelining of Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale has happened without fuss.During the semi-final against Manchester City, Kroos said Ancelotti asked the veteran players for advice about substitutions in extra time.”That describes perfectly the manager he is and why he works so well with this team,” Kroos said.”I haven’t had a single mess this season,” said Ancelotti.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Ancelotti’s arrival last year came as a surprise, not least to Real Madrid. The decision came after a chance conversation between Ancelotti and the club’s president Florentino Perez.For Madrid, it was a safe appointment, a coach for the short-term who could be hired easily and, perhaps, fired without too much trouble.For Ancelotti, it was an unexpected and, probably, final chance to work at the very highest level.For club and coach, it has gone much better than expected, a La Liga title already in the bag and now a 14th European Cup in sight.”I knew about the quality of these players but what has surprised me is how they have kept their seriousness, their humility and professionalism,” said Ancelotti.”Players who have made history haven’t changed, that’s impressive.””The King of Europe always comes back.”Real Madrid’s message to Liverpool is clear 👀 pic.twitter.com/qB45Hbhnbo— GOAL (@goal) May 20, 2022 Ancelotti’s opponent in the dugouts, Jurgen Klopp feels confident that his men earned the place in the Champions League showpiece.”We are not here by any kind of magic,” said Klopp of Liverpool’s third appearance in the competition final in five years. “We deserve this.”Real Madrid stand in the Reds’ way at the Stade de France on Saturday, just as they did four years ago in the first of Liverpool’s European Cup finals under their German guru.Defeat 3-1 that night in Kyiv to two goalkeeping errors from Loris Karius, having lost star man Mohamed Salah early on to a cruelly inflicted dislocated shoulder, might have broken other sides.”This was a harsh night for us,” Klopp reflected on Wednesday.📅 Four years ago today, Real Madrid sealed three Champions League titles in a row after beating Liverpool 3-1 in Kiev. 🏆 #UCL 2016🏆 #UCL 2017🏆 #UCL 2018The final will forever be remembered for Bale’s wonder goal, Karius’ performance and Ramos’ rugby tackle on Salah. 👀 pic.twitter.com/alYCqirnBm— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) May 25, 2022 Instead, a year later, the Reds were back on the biggest stage to right those wrongs by beating Tottenham in Madrid to lift a sixth European Cup.Since then Klopp has also ended Liverpool’s 30-year wait to win a league title in 2020.”If I sit here in four years, I am pretty confident we will have one title,” Klopp said when he first arrived as Liverpool manager. Seven years on, they very nearly won four in a season.Saturday’s final will be their 63rd game of the campaign having reached the final of every competition.The League Cup and FA Cup are already back in the Anfield trophy room, but Manchester City held off Liverpool’s charge since the turn of the year to win a thrilling Premier League title race on Sunday.”Without the Champions League it would be a great season. With the Champions League it would be a fantastic season,” Klopp added.Credit for Liverpool’s sustained success has been shared around.The club’s outgoing sporting director Michael Edwards has been lauded for near faultless recruitment in the transfer market.Klopp has welcomed in a series of experts from throw-in coaches to neuroscientists to help his players take penalties in pursuit of marginal gains.Liverpool are taking their preparation for the #UCLFinal against Real Madrid to another level…Trent Alexander-Arnold wore a headset that records brain activity during #LFC’s training session this afternoon 🧠 pic.twitter.com/ullG5AabPF— The Athletic UK (@TheAthleticUK) May 25, 2022 But it is his mix of tactical acumen, man-management and cult of personality that has transformed a sleeping giant struggling just to qualify for the Champions League back into a European superpower.”The players deserve unbelievable credit, but it is all down to that man. Liverpool have a very, very special man at the top of their club,” said former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher.”What he has created right through this club is the standard that he expects, that spirit, that mentality. He is just an absolute revelation.”Klopp has six major honours to his name as Liverpool boss.That tally would be much higher had he not been up against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, backed by the state wealth of Abu Dhabi.Liverpool have posted three of the highest nine points tallies in Premier League history in the past four years for the reward of just one title as City have twice edged them by a solitary point.The Reds’ lesser resources mean Klopp has needed to drain every ounce of effort from his squad just to keep up.”After the Champions League final (in Madrid), I said it wouldn’t be possible to win it without the manager,” said Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson.”I felt from day one he came in the door he changed everything and we have all followed him.”That road to the final for Real Madrid 🤯Liverpool got off easy 😬 pic.twitter.com/elXUKYp1n2— FootballFunnys (@FootballFunnnys) May 18, 2022 Luckily for the Liverpool support there is much more to come.Against prior expectation, Klopp extended his contract to 2026 last month, which would take his stay at Anfield beyond a decade.Aston Villa manager and legendary former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has long been tipped as a possible successor.But even he urged the Liverpool support to enjoy the ride under Klopp as long as it lasts.”Liverpool fans should enjoy Jurgen Klopp,” said Gerrard. “I think he’s one in a million, he’s that good.”🎙️ Arsène Wenger: “This is Klopp’s big chance to get his revenge for the 2018 Champions League final. It will be a very open game and it’s impossible to predict, but Liverpool can win it.”#UCL | #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/7NRfcuv37C— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) May 25, 2022 © Agence France-Presse
