Spain With Real beating Braga 3-0, Carlo Ancelotti surpassed Sir Alex Ferguson to become the coach with the most wins in the Champions League, with 116 matches.
In his 1,300th official match in charge, Ancelotti made Champions League history with his 116th victory. The Italian reached the milestone in his 21st season and his victories came with eight clubs: Milan (42 wins), Real (40), Chelsea (10), Bayern Munich (7), PSG (6), Napoli (5), Parma (4) and Juventus (2). "It's an honour to have achieved such a number of victories in the Champions League," he said shortly when informed of the record.
Ancelotti also holds many other records in the Champions League, including being the only manager to have won the tournament four times, when he won with Milan in the 2002-2003 and 2006-2007 seasons, and Real in the 2013-2014 and 2021-2022 seasons.
Coach Ancelotti during Real's 3-0 win over Braga in the fourth round of Group C of the Champions League at the Bernabeu on November 8. Photo: X / realmadrid
He is also the only coach to have appeared in five finals, in 2003, 2005, 2007 with Milan and 2014, 2022 with Real. In his only defeat in 2005, Ancelotti and Milan fell in Istanbul, where Liverpool made an incredible comeback: trailing 0-3 at half-time, then equalized to 3-3 before winning on penalties.
Ancelotti is also one of the few coaches to have won the title with two different clubs. The other four are Ernst Happel (with Feyenoord in 1970, Hamburg in 1983), Jupp Heynckes (Real Madrid in 1998, Bayern in 2013), Ottmar Hitzfeld (Dortmund in 1997, Bayern in 2001) and Jose Mourinho (Porto in 2004, Inter in 2010).
The previous record for the most wins in the Champions League belonged to Ferguson, with 115 wins in 214 matches in charge of Man Utd. The legendary Scottish coach is also far behind Ancelotti in terms of the number of championships, having only won the title with the "Red Devils" in 1999 and 2008, and twice winning the runner-up position in 2009 and 2011.
At the Bernabeu on the evening of November 8, Real maintained their winning streak when they defeated Braga 3-0 thanks to goals from Brahim Diaz, Vinicius and Rodrygo. This is the first time since 2015 that Real has won all four group stage matches, reaching 12 points and taking sole possession of the top spot in Group C. This result helped Real secure an early ticket to the next round and will be sure to keep the top spot if they defeat Napoli in the next round on November 29.
"It's not easy to qualify for the Champions League group stage, we played very well in the first four games, both home and away," said Ancelotti. "This is a special tournament for us and Real have made history here. Every game feels special and we will not lose focus in the last two games."
In an interview with RAC1 earlier this week, former Barca centre-back Gerard Pique said Real were lucky to win the 2021-2022 Champions League and that this championship will not be remembered by anyone in history. When asked about Pique's statements, Ancelotti replied: "Pique lives in his world, not the world of madridistas. No Real fan will forget the 14th championship or what the club has done in this arena."
Hong Duy
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