Carlo Ancelotti: Second and smiling - Everton’s ‘Hollywood’ appointment paying off
- Published
Everton appointed Carlo Ancelotti as manager on four-and-a-half-year deal in December 2019
Carlo Ancelotti was all smiles as he bounded up the stairs at Goodison Park to be greeted with a warm embrace in the boardroom from his new Everton employer Farhad Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright.
The date was Saturday, 21 December 2019, and Ancelotti had flown into Merseyside from Italy to sign a long-term contract to succeed the sacked Marco Silva before watching a dreadful goalless draw against Arsenal, who had just appointed a new manager of their own in Mikel Arteta.
Ancelotti was the 'Hollywood' manager Moshiri had been seeking since he became Everton's major shareholder in February 2016, having struggled to fulfil his dream and after sacking Ronald Koeman, Sam Allardyce and Silva.
Moshiri pounced after Ancelotti was harshly dismissed by Napoli - and almost one year to the day Everton's owner can reflect with satisfaction on his first 12 months after a 2-1 win over Arsenal put the Toffees an outstanding second in the table.
It capped a superb week for Ancelotti and Everton after wins against Chelsea and now Arsenal at Goodison Park, flanking a midweek victory at Leicester City.
And as Ancelotti took the acclaim of the 2,000 fans inside Goodison Park, especially those on the Gwladys Street, the 61-year-old's status was confirmed.
If Ancelotti had plotted out a week to mark his first year, three months of which were without action as football went into lockdown as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, then this would have been his perfect script.
Everton's victory was scrappy but it is worth remembering it was achieved without both first-choice full-backs Seamus Coleman and Lucas Digne in Everton's starting line-up - the latter facing a lengthy spell out after ankle surgery - and highly influential summer signings James Rodriguez and Allan both missing because of injury.
And yet they battled when they needed to and it is a tribute to Ancelotti and the players involved that these recent successes have come after deciding to ditch a creaky five-man defensive system to revert to a back four, which is effectively four central defenders in Mason Holgate, Yerry Mina, Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey.
Everton's win over Arsenal took them up to second in the table. The highest Premier League position the Toffees have been in at Christmas is third in 2004-05
Mina got the winner this time, Holgate was on target at Leicester City while Keane has been arguably Everton's best performer this season and 22-year-old Godfrey, a £25m signing from Norwich City, was man of the match here, combining some bone-shaking challenges with an astonishing turn of pace for such a big figure.
Everton were left in 15th place after that draw with Arsenal last December, Ancelotti sitting a few seats away from Arteta in the directors' box on that freezing lunchtime.
And how glad Moshiri and Everton must be that the cards fell neatly into place in those decisive days when both they and Arsenal were seeking new manager, the Gunners having sacked Unai Emery.
Ironically, Arteta had supporters of his own inside Everton's boardroom and his appointment may well have been warmly welcomed by supporters while Arsenal were linked with Ancelotti because of his global stature and his previous success in the capital with Chelsea, where he won the Premier League and FA Cup double.
Arsenal went with the rookie with roots at Emirates Stadium while Everton pushed for Ancelotti - both clubs satisfied with the outcome.
Arteta brought the FA Cup to Arsenal last season but this term has been an unrelenting misery as they lie 15th in the table after their worst start since 1974-75.
He is now even being asked what was previously the unthinkable - could Arsenal get sucked into a relegation fight? If they do they will have to fight harder than they did here, their struggles exemplified by the lightweight display of expensive summer signing Willian.
Ancelotti's cool command of events at Everton, where some questioned whether his background in dealing with the superstars of the likes of AC Milan, Chelsea, Paris St-Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich would make him the right 'fit', has warmed to his task on and off the field.
He has guided Everton to the top end of the Premier League table while buying into 'The People's Club' culture, extolling the virtues of his life in the Crosby area of Merseyside and delighting fans with personal telephone calls during lockdown.
Ancelotti's humble modesty and dry humour, intact even after his stellar career among the egos of 'Galacticos', has struck a chord with Everton's fanbase - while results have also helped his case.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has scored 11 goals in 14 Premier League appearances for Everton this season
He was the main driver behind the summer acquisitions of Allan, who he worked with at Napoli, and Rodriguez, who regards Ancelotti as a mentor from their time at Real Madrid and Bayern. Abdoulaye Doucoure has been outstanding, as has Godfrey, making it an impressive strike rate so far in the markets.
Everton hope Ancelotti's presence will attract more players who may previously have been out of reach, as he did with Allan and Rodriguez.
He has also, with help from assistant Duncan Ferguson, brought a remarkable transformation in striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin while defender Keane speaks with huge respect and Everton's younger players are learning from his vast experience.
Calvert-Lewin scored the first goal of the Ancelotti era in a 1-0 win over Burnley on Boxing Day and has scored 19 in 34 league games under the manager. He claimed a goal against Arsenal but it was taken away and given as an own goal to Rob Holding but gave another complete striker's performance.
It was interesting that during the second half of the win against Arsenal and with Everton under pressure, Ancelotti listened to lengthy tactical instructions from son Davide, who is very highly regarded as a smart operator by the squad, a bright young coach learning at his father's side.
Ancelotti, typically, refuses to get carried away. He has seen it all and knows rough times may still be around the corner as he contemplates Wednesday's EFL Cup quarter-final against Manchester United at Goodison Park.
"We did very well in our last few games - brilliant performances and fantastic results," he said. "We showed more consistency. This season we started well, then we had a difficult moment, but right now I'm really pleased.
"The position in the table is really good. But as I said last week it is not the end of the season, we have to keep fighting but this was a top, top performance."
One year on, Everton and owner Moshiri have every right to be elated at the acquisition of a man regarded as managerial royalty.