My Really Bad Take: Carlo Ancelotti was Bayern Munich’s greatest ever coach

Bayern Munich has had a fair share of great coaches in its long and rich history. Instantly recognizable names like Udo Lattek, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Jupp Heynckes, and Hansi Flick come to mind, while the likes of Louis van Gaal and Pep Guardiola are worth mentioning.

But there is one coach who stands head and shoulders above everyone else: Carlo Ancelotti.

A lot of Bayern fans give Ancelotti the stick, with some claiming he was the worst Bayern coach since Jurgen Kilnsmann in 2008/09. But let’s be honest, no coach has the career that Ancelotti has. The man won four Champions League titles, more than any other coach in history. That alone should speak tons for the man with the weird eyebrows.

But Maverick you myopic master of mistakes, I hear you say, Ancelotti won no Champions Leagues with Bayern, so that shouldn’t count at all. Well, just remember this: Ancelotti’s Bayern was extremely unlucky in the Champions League. With a barely half-fit squad, including an off-color Robert Lewandowski and Mats Hummels, not to mention a broken-footed Manuel Neuer, Ancelotti came agonizingly close to knocking out eventual champions Real Madrid. In fact, if it was not for some dodgy refereeing decisions, Bayern would have triumphed, and who knows what else would have happened?

What’s more, Ancelotti revitalized a lot of players, namely Arjen Robben and Javi Martínez. Under his tutelage, his team played pretty well in the latter half of the 2016/17 season, with only injuries and bad luck preventing a possible run at the treble. He still won the Bundesliga by a comfortable margin, and won back to back DFL Super Cups, something that no Bayern coach has done in recent history, apart from current boss Julian Nagelsmann.

Bottom line is, Ancelotti’s time at Bayern may have been short, but his legacy will live on in glory.