CARLO Ancelotti has played down the talk of vengeance in the 2021/2022 UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool.
The Real Madrid manager will be leading his side out against the English side in the showpiece final on Saturday at the Stade de France in Paris.
Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 3-1 in the 2018 final and the talk has been about the English club’s burning need to right the wrongs of that disappointing night.
However, Ancelotti shrugs off the conversation around revenge, recalling his own personal loss to Liverpool, when his AC Milan lost the Champions League final on penalties after having led 3-0 in regulation time.
“In the 2005 decider, that was the best any team I’ve coached ever played in a final,” the Italian told the UEFA website.
“Unfortunately, in football there is that unpredictability which you can’t control. It’s difficult to explain. It’s difficult to explain how we scored twice in one minute in the 90th minute against [Manchester] City [in the semi-finals].
“These things happen, and you have to accept it. You also don’t have to think about it too much. Football always offers [a chance of redemption], and that happened two years later [when AC Milan beat Liverpool in the 2007 final].
“Will Liverpool be out for revenge for the 2018 final loss to Madrid? Real Madrid are also looking for revenge because they lost a final against Liverpool in [the 1981 final in] Paris. I don’t think it [means much]. Two great teams will face each other, and the one with more courage and personality will win at the end.”
Ancelotti will be hoping to become the first coach to win four Champions League trophies on Saturday, having led AC Milan to the title in 2003 and 2007, and Real Madrid to triumph in his first spell in 2014.
He is however wary of Liverpool, who he has had many battles against.
“In my career in the Champions League, we have faced each other many times,” he noted. “The first time was in 1984, the final in Rome. I didn’t play because I was injured.
“Then, in 2005 and 2007, [when Ancelotti was AC Milan coach] and of course, the rivalry was accentuated during the period I worked at Everton. Now, we’ll face each other again. They have a great squad, they’re difficult to go up against. They play at a very high level, with great physicality, but it’s a pleasure to play against them in the final.
“Like I said, Liverpool have a lot of quality together, with high intensity and good organisation. They’re one of the best teams. Jürgen Klopp is a great coach. I have a good relationship with him. He’s a great coach who brought some new things to football with the intensity and offensive pressure [of his teams]. He’s doing a great job.”
When asked how he felt to have reached his fifth UEFA Champions League final, which is a record, Ancelotti was philosophical in his response.
“I’ve thought about it. Yes, many years have passed since the first time,” he offered. “Football has changed, and I was able to adapt to those changes.
“From the first final in 2003 to today, there have been many changes. They have been positive changes. Football is always a very, very interesting show, and I adapt to the changes because I have a passion for this sport.
“What does it feel like to win it? [It feels like] you’ve won the most important competition; you have done your job well. Is it different winning it as a coach than as a player? Well, yes. The feelings, the emotions, are different. They are stronger when you win as a manager. As a player, you are part of a group that wins the trophy, but as a manager you have more responsibilities.”
