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In perhaps the worst kept secret of the season, Carlo Ancelotti signed on to coach English powerhouse Chelsea on Monday. Ancelotti replaces Dutchman Guus Hiddink, who ended his brief stint in West London after leading the Blues to the FA Cup over the weekend. Ancelotti becomes the latest coach tasked to win Chelsea -- and specifically owner Roman Abramovich -- the holy grail of European soccer, the Champions League. The Italian is no stranger to winning the trophy with the big ears, winning it twice as a player at AC Milan and twice as a coach of the Rossoneri, as recently as 2007.
The question, obviously, now is if Ancelotti is the right man for the job? Around this time last year in the midst of Euro 2008 the Blues thought they had their man in Phil Scolari ... and that turned into an unmitigated disaster.
What will likely determine the fate of Ancelotti at Stamford Bridge is his interaction and relationship with the players. The Chelsea locker room is packed with worldwide stars with, let's put it nicely, strong personalities. How Ancelotti is able to connect with Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack, John Terry, Nicolas Anelka, etc. will likely determine how much silverware ends up in the trophy case. Scolari turned the locker room against him and the team almost self destructed, until the Dutch wizard swooped in and saved the season.
Ancelotti obviously knows his tactics, at least in European competition, finding loads of success with his so-called "Christmas Tree" formation. How well those tactics adjust to the huff-and-puff, up-and-down nature of the Premier League remains to be seen.
Now that Ancelotti has signed on the dotted line, expect the speculation to turn to who he'll bring in during the transfer window. David Beckham has already dismissed a move, but expect plenty of rumbling on the Kaka front.
In the end, the success of Ancelotti at Chelsea boils down to one thing -- the Champions League. Until he does, the Italian is just the latest man to strap on the armor and chase at the windmills.
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