CARLO ANCELOTTI was sacked by Bayern Munich yesterday after just over a year in charge of the German giants.
Ancelotti guided Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title last season and won two German Super Cups, but could only reach the last eight of the Champions League and the German Cup semi-finals.
This season, Bayern – German champions for the past five years – sit three points behind table-toppers Borussia Dortmund in third, with four wins, one draw and one defeat from their first six games.
And after surrendering a two-goal lead at home to Wolfsburg last Friday to draw 2-2 and Wednesday night’s 3-0 Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, Ancelotti was sacked.
The Italian clearly lost the respect of the players a long time ago and saw his relationship with the club’s leadership deteriorate.
Ancelotti, a three-time Champions League winning manager, took over from Pep Guardiola as Bayern looked to beat the three semi-finals appearances in their three previous seasons.
But with Ancelotti said to have a much softer approach to Guardiola, the former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager gradually lost the authority of the squad.
Bayern president Uli Hoeness revealed yesterday that it was impossible for Ancelotti to turn things around as he had five players against him.
“There were five players against Ancelotti,” Hoeness told Westfalenpost. ”It was impossible to get out of that.”
And one player likely to have turned against Ancelotti is Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski.
The Poland international’s goals have been crucial in his three years at Bayern – scoring 121 in 157 outings – but he publicly criticised the club even before the season kicked off.
He questioned Bayern’s ambitions in the transfer market and demanded the club sign more world-class players to compete with the Europe’s elite.
Lewandowski’s fellow attackers Thomas Muller and Arjen Robben have also voiced their discontent at various points of the campaign.
Muller had previously aired concerns about being dropped from the team, while Robben refused to back Ancelotti after the fateful defeat against Paris Saint-Germain.
Robben was benched alongside key players Franck Ribery and Mats Hummels at Parc des Princes.
When asked if the players were still behind Ancelotti after the loss, Robben said: “I will not answer that.
“It was a painful defeat, we can talk about this. When it is a game as big as this, you never want to lose.”
Ancelotti could be offered an immediate return to management, with AC Milan said to be keen on bringing him back to the San Siro to replace the under-pressure Vincenzo Montella.
Willy Sagnol, Ancelotti’s former assistant, will take over at the Allianz Arena on an interim basis, but Hoffenheim head coach Julian Nagelsmann has been touted as his long-term replacement.
Source:www.express.co.uk