Farewell to "father" Ancelotti and his "calm method" at Real Madrid: "If you use the whip, the horse will kick."

To explain his way of relating to his team's players, Carlo Ancelotti often uses an example involving two horses. In the story, repeated for several decades by the Italian to those interested in his leadership style, an owner stands behind a horse and lashes it with a whip to make it jump. Next to him, another owner places a carrot next to the fence and provokes the horse to jump. "If you always use the whip, sometimes the horse will kick instead of jumping," explains the Reggiolo native. And it is there, in that reflection, that Carlo Ancelotti's famous " honeymoon ," as he describes it, at Real Madrid , was born twelve years ago and where it ends today at the Bernabéu.

"The players must feel comfortable" has been his motto. Strengthening that relationship through the carrot, not the whip. Being a coach and a friend, a " father " to many at Valdebebas , generating a connection of trust that ultimately turns his squad into a big family. The one you call to check on them. That explains Ancelotti's success in his second term.

The coach bids farewell to Chamartín today as the most successful coach in the club's history. 15 titles , including three European Cups, put him ahead of Miguel Muñoz. An unexpected milestone in 2021, when he picked up the phone and dialed José Ángel Sánchez , Real Madrid's general manager, to ask him "how are you?" and request a loan deal for Everton. Within two minutes, Ancelotti realized he could return to Madrid.

Six years had passed since his departure in 2015, but the " tranquility " and " elegance " he displayed in his first farewell to the club, as they remember him in Valdebebas, left the door forever open for him. And he took advantage of it. Today he leaves again, ten years later, May 24th (he announced his departure from Madrid on May 25th, 2015 ). Dates that mark an eternal legacy for the successes, but also for the manner.

"My father never got angry"

Ancelotti arrived in 2013 to replace a warrior Mourinho, who hadn't had the good fortune to reign in Europe, and in 2021 to take over after the empty years of Lopetegui, Solari, and Zidane , the latter already in a grueling second spell. And Ancelotti brought peace and tranquility during his 2,153-year double mandate. "The ' quiet method ' has been with me since my childhood thanks to my father Giuseppe, my first great leader. My father never got angry," says Carletto.

The continuity of Casemiro, Modric, and Kroos, when many were calling for changes in midfield following the failures of 2019 and 2020, made the team European champions in 2022, also boosting the club's young prospects, such as Vinicius, Rodrygo, Valverde, and Camavinga . Meanwhile, the Italian comfortably navigated departures that could have been traumatic, such as those of Ramos, Varane, Casemiro himself, Bale, Marcelo, Isco, and Benzema, all part of the backbone that lifted three consecutive Champions League titles. It was barely noticeable, because in 2024 he won the 'big-eared' trophy again.

Ancelotti was able to win while rebuilding the Madrid that Florentino and José Ángel Sánchez had planned in the offices, something the club has valued until the end, even in this season where almost everything has failed. And we return to the family. The Italian hasn't complained publicly about the lack of signings and has only mentioned the lack of "balance" in his squad. Nor has he resented his dressing room despite the neglect in the defensive department. He's been there to defend Vini in every controversy.

His players might have needed the whip at some point this season, but if he had used it, he wouldn't have been Ancelotti.

"I'm not sad. I'm very happy. A very important stage of my career is coming to an end. I've tried to do everything I could for this club. We're leaving happy. Sooner or later, this day had to come, and I'm grateful to everyone who has worked with me over the years," he said in a press conference on Friday before the match against Real Sociedad (4:15 p.m.).

"I had a great time, with a lot of love, a lot of help, and the opportunity to coach spectacular players. Everything went well," the Italian coach emphasized.

And so, with that tranquility, he has lived these strange weeks, with the agreement with Brazil on the table, with Madrid's silence on his future only broken on Friday morning and with the imminent arrival of Xabi Alonso. 2,153 days later , surpassed only by Juan de Cárcer (2,190 between 1920 and 1926), Arthur Johnson (3,652 between 1910 and 1920) and Muñoz (5,019 between 1960 and 1974), the calm man leaves.