Carlo Ancelotti has promised to continue Bayern Munich’s tradition of attacking football and expressed his delight at joining “one of the best clubs in the world” as he laid out his plan for continued success with the club.
The Italian steps into the large boots left by Pep Guardiola, who won three straight Bundesliga titles during his time in charge, but he is confident of being able to continue the German champions’ recent record success story while adding more trophies to his own roll of honour.
“I’m very happy and proud to be here and I want to thank Bayern for this,” Ancelotti said at the Allianz Arena, addressing the media in German.
“I feel very good because I’m at one of the best clubs in the world, but I am looking forward to the start of a new season. I think my friend Guardiola did excellent work in recent years. We have a fantastic team and I’m delighted, and we will try to be strong in all competitions and to win. A new season starts today and I hope for this club and for all Bayern fans that this will be a great season.”
Ancelotti then switched into a mix of Italian and English to answer questions, starting with how he expects to cope with the pressure.
Bayern have won a league record four Bundesliga titles in a row, but Guardiola may ultimately be remembered for failing to deliver the Champions League.
ncelotti has won that trophy three times as a manager and could become the first coach to lift Europe’s elite club competition with three different clubs.
“A lot of people ask about the pressure – I am used to it,” said the 57-year-old. “I had the luck in my career of coaching top teams – AC Milan, Paris St-Germain, Chelsea, Juventus, Real Madrid – all top teams who want to win, but honestly I don’t feel the pressure because I’m used to it and I really love my job.
“We try to do our best. I know that Bayern have a fantastic history in the Bundesliga and in the Champions League. We try to do our best. We want to be competitive in all competitions. The only thing that we cannot control is the result – if I could control that too I would be a magician, but I’m only a manager.”
Ancelotti said he did not plan on overhauling the club’s style of play. “I know very well that the style of Bayern Munich is to play attacking football and we want to play attacking football,” he said. “I love to play attacking football. We have a fantastic squad and I’m really happy about this. We’ve signed some fantastic players this summer.
“I’m not here to make a revolution because the job that Guardiola did here was fantastic and I would like to follow his style. I don’t think our style is going to change a lot compared to last year. The system will be more or less the same.”
If that system delivers the expected results, Ancelotti admitted he could be in Munich for the long haul. “I don’t know if this is my last job – it depends how long I am here in Munich,” he said. “If I last as long as Sir Alex Ferguson did at Manchester United, then this could be my last job.
“Of course everybody wants to win the Champions League, but only one team wins it. I come after a fantastic manager – I consider Guardiola a fantastic manager, a really, really serious, professional manager. He has shown a good image of football everywhere he was and I will try to follow, showing good, attacking football to ensure our fans are happy.”
