Extract from Carlo's book

[charierre]

CARLO ANCELOTTI has launched a passionate defence of Chelsea captain John Terry.

Despite Chelsea's historic Double last season, Terry came under fire from all sides.

Revelations about his private life led to Ancelotti's fellow Italian, Fabio Capello, stripping Terry of the England captaincy, and he carried his indifferent club form into the World Cup.

But in his new autobiography, Chelsea boss Ancelotti singles out the 29-year-old defender as the heartbeat of his debut season success at Stamford Bridge.

He also reveals the debt he owes to Ray Wilkins - and how Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson snubbed him after the game which tilted the title race decisively in Chelsea's favour.

Ancelotti said: "John Terry is the captain of all team captains, he was born with the captain's armband on his arm.

"Even without the band, it's as if he wears it anyway, and that's how it ought to be. He's different from all the others, Chelsea is his home, it always has been, ever since the youth squad.

"One word from him, and the locker room holds its breath. He's the first one to sit down at meals, the first one to stand up.

"Being part of this club is his mission, that's how he was made. He pays close attention to the performances of the youth team, he keeps up, he knows all the scores, he misses nothing (although he often loses at ping-pong in the dining room - and when that happens, watch out).

"He works twice as hard as everyone else, he has the sense of responsibility of someone who runs a company, a people, a philosophy that above all has to win.

"There is no room for second place; there can only be room for us."

The Italian also has high praise for the man who helped him translate the winning formula he devised in his homeland into English - assistant boss Wilkins (with Ancelotti, below).

Ancelotti added: "One of the reasons I fit into the locker room was thanks to the fundamental role played by Ray Wilkins, my number two and my friend. It's one thing to translate words - plenty of people can do that - but translating feelings is the gift of only a select few.

"Ray is one of those select few, always present, noble in spirit, a real blue-blood, Chelsea flows in his veins.

"His heart beats in two languages, and that helped me.

"Without him, we couldn't have won a thing, and in particular we would not have started the year at supersonic speed." Chelsea did start well, but by the middle of March, their juggernaut had started to stall. A 4-2 home defeat by Manchester City - Wayne Bridge and all - was followed by defeat in the Champions League against Inter Milan and former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.

But a training ground meeting, where Chelsea's senior players took the lead, set Ancelotti and his team up for a glorious end to the season.

"We did our calculations right after we were catapulted out of the Champions League by Inter, at a moment in the season that was so precarious it could easily have slid into disaster," said Ancelotti.

"In the past, Chelsea had always had a hard time recovering from roundhouse punches like that, so the day after our defeat we all gathered in the locker room of our training grounds in Cobham.

"The venerable old men all spoke - Terry, (Didier) Drogba, (Petr) Cech, and (Frank) Lampard (another magnificent example of English leadership - when I see him on the field, it makes me happy). I was proud of us in that twenty minutes, we understood that we had lost a great deal but that we could win much, much more.

"I was very clear in what I had to say: 'The Premiership and the FA Cup are still ours for the taking. Only six teams have managed to pull off a double in 140 years, but it's our turn now.'

"At that point, we pulled out our timetable. Numbers and statistics, written so clearly that no one could possibly misunderstand.

"The number of training sessions remaining: 50. The number of days we could still devote to achieving our objectives: 60, more or less. The number of games left to play: 11."

After the false start of a 1-1 draw against Blackburn, Chelsea won seven of their final eight league games.

The key game in dethroning Manchester United as champions was the 2-1 win at Old Trafford - and United boss Ferguson knew it.

"Our success at Old Trafford was the one that got us the League title, even though in the end Ray Wilkins and I were forced to drink to our victory alone," said Ancelotti.

"As is the tradition, a few minutes after the final whistle we went to Sir Alex's room to drink the usual glass of wine. We walked in, and silence reigned.

"He sat there staring at a television screen; the set was tuned to a horse race, his greatest love.

"We were strictly relegated to the background, to some place beyond and behind the background.

"We stood awkwardly for a while without saying a word, uncertain what to do, and finally did what we had come to do. We drank a glass of wine, to our own health. Bye-bye.

"Even though I won the three games I played against him that season, I still consider Ferguson to be a master of soccer, an example I have always looked up to, in some ways, unattainable. (Unattainable in the sense that I don't have a passion for racehorses.)"

One thing Ancelotti does have a passion for is food, and he repeatedly makes jokes at his own expense about it. But what is next on his football menu, after the Premier League and FA Cup?

"Now I want the Champions League," he said.

Carlo Ancelotti will donate all royalties from the sale of the book to Fondazione Stefano Borgonova, a charitable foundation set up for his former team-mate at Milan, and dedicated to finding a cure for ALS, a neurogenerative disease, from which Borgonova suffers.

NOTW

[moi]

While it is great that Ancelotti has been so fulsome in his praise of JT, it is a shame he didn't shout this from the rooftops when Capello stripped him of the England captaincy.

[Plavi26]

I don't think he likes to get into useless polemics with other managers, and if he did criticize Capello on the decision, imagine how the press would have reacted. He is a completely different character from Jose, he doesn't get into petty wars and keeps a clean image, something the club needed after the numerous turn overs and managerial changes.

[TheWestwayWonder]

Totally agree space. As a newcomer to england he was right not to wade into that situation. I love that carlo is the kind of man that listens and doesn't speak unless it's needed. If he really admires Ferguson that is a great sign for the future of this club.

[jcm28]

Im glad Carlo is our current manager. He has done a fine job, champions league or not. Now I can tell why the AC Milan fans love him so much.

[coco]

I can see him being our manager for a long long time to come.

[dkw]

That really is a massively uplifting read isnt it, shows how important Terry is to the club and the club is to Terry. Nice to see Butch get some praise, he was blamed by some for failings in the past but hasnt really received much praise for the way he has helped Carlo integrate into the ways of Chelsea.

[BlueDay]

Carlo has got more class than the rest of the Premier league managers put together. Wenger and Ferguson should learn from him.

[Cam]

I love Carlo as a manager. He oozes class. He never whinges or makes excuses...just gets on with his job. He also appears to have an immense relationship with the players...as he's got the best out of just about the entire team.

I genuinely hope he's able to make this job his own for a long period of time.

Those book quotes were great to read.

[Gem]

Carlo is class. Gonna have to buy this book.

[PloKoon13]

The cover has a picture of Ancelotti with a Chelsea shirt, the Premiership trophy and medal, complete with raised eyebrow.

[Backbiter]

Top picture of the eyebrow!

[dkw]

Top picture of the eyebrow!

That eyebrow has a life of its own, I wonder if it gets a chapter in the book.

[Gem]

Oh that is the coolest picture ever!!

[Ruh Buh Juh]

I can see him being our manager for a long long time to come.

[mbh]

You was saying!

Edited August 22, 2010 by bluebyme

[mad_mac]

I can see him being our manager for a long long time to come.

Coco,

I'd be very happy with that. Not just because I think Carlo will be a successful manager, but because it will make us look better and be more stable as a club. From what I've seen of Carlo so far, he seems to be the kind of manager that is focused on the club as a whole. Some shrewd, tactical signings. KNows about the players and coaching staff's place within Chelsea, and finally very present at Youth games and bringing Youth players into the folds of the first team.

Carlo, Grazie

[Gem]

Top picture of the eyebrow!

Would love to have the original picture without the text etc

EDIT: found this one, new avatar in the making for me I reckon.

Edited August 22, 2010 by Gem