Carlo Ancelotti became the first manager in history to reach five Champions League finals when Real Madrid stunned Manchester City 6-5 on aggregate to set up a meeting with Liverpool.
Carlo Ancelotti set a new record on Saturday when Real Madrid won the La Liga title.
Carlo Ancelotti has reached his fifth Champions League final after becoming the first coach in history to win all five of Europe's top five leagues.
With Real Madrid's 4-0 win over Espanyol on Saturday, he became the only manager in history to have led teams to league titles in Serie A, the Premier League, Ligue 1, the Bundesliga, and La Liga.
The 62-year-old is already the first manager in history to lead four different clubs to the Champions League semi-finals, and after a stunning extra-time comeback win over City at the Bernabeu on Wednesday, he is now the only manager in history to manage in five Champions League finals.
In 2003, he won his first Champions League final with a penalty shootout victory over Juventus at Old Trafford, but two years later, he was defeated on penalties in Turkey after a stunning comeback by Liverpool. After another two years, he got his revenge, as Milan defeated the Reds 2-1 in Athens.
Despite his close and long-standing ties to Milan, his best final came during his first stint at the Bernabeu, when he finally helped Real Madrid win 'La Decima,' their 10th Champions League trophy, an achievement they had awaited for 12 years.
Eight years after last lifting the European Cup, he will have the chance to add a fourth trophy to his collection when Real face Liverpool in the Champions League final in Paris later this month – Klopp will be in his fourth final, one behind Ancelotti.
It caps off an impressive first season back in the Spanish capital, which began with some skepticism about his return.
"When he showed up, it was a fairly underwhelming appointment," Spanish football journalist Tom Allnutt told Sky Sports. He wasn't unwelcome, no one was irritated, and he is well-liked by the players, club, and journalists in Madrid, but people were taken aback.
"He's done an excellent job, a fantastic job." Vinicius Junior's form has been a major plus for him; he's basically transformed from what he was under Zidane. They've been much better defensively, and he's brought stability to the back line, which was desperately needed after the departures of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane.
"More than anything, it's the norm for Ancelotti, who has weathered any storms and individual instances with players. He has the ability to make everything seem insignificant, which is a real skill and valuable for a Real Madrid coach. It was one of Zidane's greatest strengths to defuse controversy and keep his players and team out of the spotlight." It's partly because he's 62 years old, and the bottom line is that he doesn't see it as a high-pressure job as other coaches do when they go through rough patches. He's not bitter or under pressure; he's simply delighted and grateful to have another chance to manage Madrid. "I think he thought Everton would be his level, so it's worked well for him and Madrid."
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