Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti receives honorary doctorate

Real Madrid manager and footballing icon, Carlo Ancelotti, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Parma.

The Los Blancos manager is one of the most loved and decorated managers in the modern football era having won four Champions League trophies as well as league titles in five different countries for some of the biggest clubs in the world.

Ancelotti has won pieces of silverware while in the dugout for teams such as Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, which has made him one of the most coveted coaches in the world.

Having helped guide Real Madrid to five pieces of silverware during this second stint with the club, he looks to be finally stepping aside next summer when his contract expires with reports suggesting he is set to take over at the Brazil national side who sacked their former coach, Tite after the Qatar World Cup.

Carlo Ancelotti to join the Brazilian national side

This looks to be all but confirmed with Parma University rector Paolo Andrei stating that ‘In 2024, Carlo Ancelotti awaits an extraordinary adventure that for many coaches would be just a dream: the bench of Brazil.’

For all the good that Ancelotti has achieved in the dugout while instructing some of the world’s best players on what to do while playing, he has now added an honorary doctorate to his ever-growing and impressive CV.

The Italian coach was back in Parma, Italy where his coaching career really took off having managed the Serie A side from 1996-1998 and was also a player for the club from 1976-1979 as a midfielder.

So, it was only right for him to be honoured back in the city where he really rose to stardom and that is what’s happened having received a doctorate in Sciences and Techniques of Preventive and Adapted Motor Activity.

Ancelotti awarded an honorary doctorate in Parma

Ancelotti gave a rather long speech about his coaching methods and what he strived to do during his career and included some very knowledgeable notes, such as when he claimed: “You cannot train Diego Maradona to dribble better. That is genetic.

“What you can do with talented players is help them remember the importance of altruism. That is what differentiates a great player from a champion.

“Football helped me improve my relationship with others, learn respect for the rules, for your opponents and your team-mates.”

The Italian manager has been able to transform and adapt to the way football has changed since he first started managing back in 1992 as the Italian national team assistant coach, and that is what has made him one of the greatest managers of his era and even beyond.

Ancelotti has not ever managed a national side, so jumping over to South America and working with some of the most naturally skilful players on the planet, but only getting a limited amount of time every few months to work with them will be a very different task.