You have to hand it to him. In sticking around for two years, Carlo Ancelotti did something quite special. There's not too many managers who are still sitting in the Bernabeu hot-seat at the start of a second season. It was of course winning the much coveted La Decima (Madrid's tenth European Cup) that gave the Italian breathing room but as many mangers before him found out, that doesn't last long.
So, a trophy-less season later, Ancelotti is out on his arse and Florentino Perez is doing what he does best, posturing that Madrid demands the best while seemingly not having any idea who can deliver it.
Ancelotti's sacking was not remarkable in the tradition of Madrid's managerial history but it does continue a rather intriguing stat.
Of last 5 Champions League-winning managers, none was still manager, 2 seasons later, with the team he led to title pic.twitter.com/xkN2nfqHLv
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 25, 2015
Five years of Champions League winners and quickly five departed managers. Not since Pep Guardiola led Barcelona to glory over Man United in 2009 has a victorious manager lasted more than a year in his job.
It really does say a lot about the managerial merry-go-round these days that this is hardly even surprising. Barcelona are on the verge of a treble, yet it looked like Luis Enrique may not have lasted until Christmas. Imagine Barca defeat Juventus in this year's final and then have a bad start to next season, would it really surprise anyone that he's quickly out of a job and the record continues?
