Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that the most important trophy he has won in his career as a manager was the 2003 Champions League final against Juventus.
Ancelotti – now in charge of Napoli – played for the Rossoneri from 1987 to 1992 and then was manager from 2001 to 2009, winning 15 major honours at the club across both periods.
For many Milan fans the highlight of all the Champions League glory is still the final over 16 years ago at Old Trafford, when Andriy Shevchenko’s penalty secured glory a sixth European Cup for the Diavolo.
Ancelotti was a European champion as a player in 1989 and 1990, as a coach in 2003, 2007 and 2014 – and the 60-year-old has revealed his favourite moments out of the lot.
“The first memory I have of the European Cup in my career is in 1984. I got injured, but Roma reached the final,” he told UEFA’s official website.
“Then the triumph of 1989, in the Barcelona final against Steaua Bucharest. I remember everything. The atmosphere before the final, with 90,000 Milan fans.
“Then I remember the difficulties of my second final, against Benfica in Vienna. They are living memories. Playing the Champions League final is the highlight of any footballer’s career.
“The Champions League is the most important competition in the world, the most exciting, also because of the direct elimination.
“The trophy won with Milan in 2003 was my first as a coach, so certainly the most important. I have won two more times, but the first has a special flavour, also because it was a final between two Italian teams, when Italian football was at the highest level.”
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