Days after becoming the first-ever manager to complete football's own 'Grand Slam', Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti created yet another history Wednesday night -- this time by?reaching a fifth UEFA Champions League final. (More Football News)
Liverpool Vs Real Madrid, Champions League Final: It's Jurgen Klopp Vs Carlo Ancelotti Showdown In Paris
The Liverpool vs Real Madrid, Champions League 2021-22 final will also pit two legendary managers -- Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti against each other.
No manager has done it before him. Besides becoming the first man to lead four different clubs to the Champions League semi-finals, the Italian is also one of only three managers to have won the tournament three?times. Bob Paisley (with Liverpool in 1977, 1978 and 1981)?and Zinedine?Zidane are the two others.
Ancelotti, 62, last won the Champions League with Real?Madrid, helping Los Blancos end a wait of 12 years to?complete 'La Decima'. On May 29 at Stade de France in?Paris, Carlo Ancelotti can lift 'La Orejona' for an?unprecedented fourth time with a win against Liverpool.
Before Real Madrid's sensational win against Pep Guardiola's City, 'Don Carlo' scripted remarkable come from behind wins over Lionel Messi's Paris-Saint Germain and defending champions Chelsea in the previous rounds.
But in Jurgen Klopp's quadruple-chasing Liverpool, Ancelotti will probably face the biggest test this campaign. Liverpool, who?defeated Villareal 5-2 on aggregate, are in their third Champions League final in?five years.
This will be Klopp's fourth final -- 2013 with Borussia?Dortmund, and 2018, 2019 with Liverpool -- a feat he now shares with Alex Ferguson and Marcello?Lippi.
The title showdown against six-time champions?Liverpool will be Real Madrid's 17th appearance in the?final. Liverpool have played nine finals.
Carlo Ancelotti and Jurgen Klopp have a?3-3 win-loss record against each other in ten previous meetings, including six in the Champions League, three in English Premier League and one in FA Cup.
On a Wednesday magical night in Madrid, the 13-time?European Champions overturned a 3-4 first leg defeat?against Manchester City to win the tie 6-5 on aggregate?and set a final date with Liverpool.
Carlo Ancelotti has started his second with Real Madrid?on a rousing note by winning La Liga title with four?games to spare. Real Madrid hammered Espanyol 4-0 in?front of a jubilant Santiago Bernabeu crowd on?Saturday. This was Real Madrid's 35th La Liga title, nine?more than the second-most successful Barcelona.
In the process, the former Everton manager had become?the first-ever manager to win all five of Europe's major?leagues -- Italy's Serie A with AC Milan (2004), France's Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain (2013), English?Premier League with Chelsea (2010), German?Bundesliga with Bayern Munich (2017) and Spain's La?Liga with Real Madrid (2022).
Ancelotti, 62, last won the Champions League with Real?Madrid, helping Los Blancos end a wait of 12 years to?complete 'La Decima'. On May 29 at Stade de France in?Paris, Carlo Ancelotti can lift La Orejona for an?unprecedented fourth time.
Carlo Ancelotti first won the Champions League, then known?as European Cup, as a player with AC Milan in 1989 and?1990. The former Parma and AS Roma midfielder was?also part of the Italian national football team which?finished third in the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
Ancelotti won his first Champions League medal as a manager in 2003 after helping Rossoneri beat Juventus?on penalties after a goalless extra time. But Ancelotti?and Milan were stunned by Liverpool in the 2005 Istanbul?final. Milan were leading 3-0 at half time, then lost on penalties.
Milan however got their revenge in 2007 with a 2-1 win?over Liverpool in Athens, thus making Carlo?Ancelotti one of the most successful managers.?In the 2014 Lisbon final, Real Madrid beat city rivals Atletico?Madrid 4-1 in extra time for their 10th Champions?League title with Ancelotti at the helm.
Real Madrid had since won three more titles under Zidane, in 2016 (vs Atletico Madrid), 2017 (vs Juventus) and 2018 (vs Liverpool).
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