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Lauren Hough Loses Lambda Prize Nomination After a Twitter Feud

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Lauren Hough Loses Lambda Prize Nomination After a Twitter Feud

Final month, Lauren Hough, a first-time creator, obtained excellent news from an editor at her publishing home: Her essay assortment “Leaving Isn’t The Hardest Factor,” printed final yr, was set to be nominated for a Lambda Literary Award within the class of lesbian memoir.

The nomination appeared a capstone to a outstanding debut, which received vital acclaim and spent two weeks on The New York Occasions’s best-seller checklist. The e-book, described by its writer as interrogating “our notions of ecstasy, queerness, and what it means to reside freely,” drew closely on Hough’s life experiences, together with as a lesbian within the Air Power throughout the “don’t ask, don’t inform” period. A reviewer for NPR likened her ability at portraiture to that of “a type of cartoonists who can sketch out 4 strains and all of the sudden you see your face in them.”

However Hough mentioned in an interview Monday that an editor had lately knowledgeable her that the nomination had been pulled, following a social media dust-up by which Hough had defended, at instances heatedly, a forthcoming novel by the creator Sandra Newman, a buddy of hers, from criticism that it was transphobic.

The novel, “The Males,” which is ready to be printed in June, describes a state of affairs by which “all individuals with a Y chromosome mysteriously disappear from the face of the earth,” in response to Newman’s writer. Hough, who mentioned she had learn “The Males,” wrote on Substack that she had informed the critics “to learn the e-book earlier than condemning it.”

Lambda Literary, which for greater than 30 years has administered the Lammys, confirmed that Hough had been faraway from competition for the award.

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“In a collection of now-deleted tweets, Lauren Hough exhibited what we believed to be a troubling hostility towards transgender critics and trans-allies and used her substantial platform — due partly to her glorious e-book — to harmfully have interaction with readers and critics,” Cleopatra Acquaye and Maxwell Scales, Lambda Literary’s interim co-executive administrators, mentioned in a joint assertion Monday. “As an L.G.B.T.Q. group, we can’t knowingly reward people who exhibit disdain and disrespect for the autonomy of a whole phase of the group we now have dedicated ourselves to supporting.”

Hough mentioned Monday that she couldn’t recall whether or not she had deleted any tweets, and denied that any of her tweets had been transphobic. Lambda didn’t present examples of the posts they have been most crucial of. The Occasions has not reviewed any deleted tweets.

In a textual content message Hough argued that Lambda Literary was making an attempt to control the discourse round L.G.B.T.Q. literature. “The energy of Lambda Literary, and the L.G.B.T.Q. motion at giant, was in convincing individuals to look past the duvet, learn past the title, even when that title consists of the phrases ‘Y-chromosome’ — we requested them to learn the e-book,” she mentioned.

She added: “I anticipated extra from Lambda than character assassination by obscure accusation primarily based on Twitter rumors, for telling individuals — not one group, however individuals — to learn the e-book.”

Acquaye and Scales mentioned in a joint interview that an unbiased judging panel and Lambda Literary had each contributed to the choice to withdraw the e-book from competition, and mentioned that the group had not taken a place on “The Males.”

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Because of Hough’s posts, Scales mentioned within the interview, “many trans of us felt like they couldn’t, they weren’t allowed to be in these conversations.” Acquaye mentioned that the posts “didn’t uplift different queer individuals and these voices.”

In her Substack publication, Hough mentioned that she had mentioned “The Males” with Newman, together with “find out how to make the e-book acknowledge the fact of transgender individuals.”

“Different books that began from this premise — all the lads disappear — have erased the existence of trans individuals, and it was necessary to her not to try this, to be as delicate as attainable,” Hough wrote. “So once I noticed individuals assuming that straightforward concept was everything of the plot, I informed them to learn the e-book earlier than assuming the worst.”

For this, she wrote, she was labeled a TERF, or trans-exclusionary radical feminist — one thing she denied.

(Earlier books with related, gender-eliminating or -separating situations “have been written earlier than there was a lot consideration on something past a gender binary,” mentioned Brian Attebery, an English professor at Idaho State College who has written about gender in science fiction.)

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Hough lamented that Twitter customers had so harshly criticized a e-book that they had not learn.

“They name it ‘call-out tradition,’” she wrote on Substack, “as a result of bullying is fallacious, except your goal is somebody you don’t like, for social justice causes, after all.”

In an e mail Monday, Newman declined to touch upon her forthcoming e-book however confirmed Hough’s account of their friendship. “She’s additionally an individual of nice integrity and decency,” added Newman. “And she or he’s an incredible author whose e-book deserves all of the awards.”

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Manchester United aiming to win Premier League title by 2028, CEO tells staff

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Manchester United aiming to win Premier League title by 2028, CEO tells staff

Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada has told staff that the aim is to win the Premier League title in 2028, for the 150th anniversary of the club being formed.

Berrada, who officially joined from rivals Manchester City in June, addressed employees during a meeting at Old Trafford last Wednesday and mapped out the ambitions shared by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the football hierarchy.

Berrada informed staff of “Project 150” — so called because it coincides with the major milestone of United’s existence. The club was founded, as Newton Heath, in 1878, before changing its name to Manchester United in 1902.

That defined goal puts into context the work required on the team, with United currently 11th in the Premier League after two wins, one draw and two defeats. United also drew their opening game in the Europa League to FC Twente, the lowest-ranked side they will face at Old Trafford in the competition.

Berrada also spoke about the women’s team winning their first title by that year, in equal prominence. He tried to strike an aspirational tone, accepting it would take lots of hard work, rather than come across bullish.

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Berrada’s bold statements were received by an audience of staffers in a mixed mood in the wake of the the job cuts that are seeing the 1,000-strong workforce reduced by a quarter. People who have been at the club for several years have departed, prompting feelings of upset and despondency, while others are energised at the prospect of the club becoming more driven by sporting objectives.

Ratcliffe’s arrival triggered the redundancies as a means of saving money the club says, but his main motivation is on United winning major silverware again. In his first round of media interviews in February after securing his 27.7 per cent investment he brought up the 150-year anniversary.

“It’s not a 10-year plan. The fans would run out of patience if it was a 10-year plan. But it’s certainly a three-year plan to get there,” he said.

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“To think that we’re going to be playing football as good as Manchester City played against Real Madrid last season by next year is not sensible. And if we give people false expectations, then they will get disappointed. So the key thing is our trajectory, so that people can see that we’re making progress.


United’s new hierarchy have mapped out their ambitions (Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)

“I think it’s the club’s 150-year anniversary in 2028… if our trajectory is leading to a very good place in that sort of timeframe then we’d be very happy with that. Because it’s not easy to turn Manchester United into the world’s best football team.

“The ultimate target for Manchester United — and it’s always going to be thus, really — is that we should be challenging for the Premier League and challenging for the Champions League. It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world.”

Ahead of the Liverpool game earlier this month, which United lost 3-0, Berrada and Dan Ashworth, the club’s newly-appointed sporting director, addressed the media.

“Erik has our full backing and we have worked very closely together in this transfer window,” Berrada said. “We’re going to continue working very closely with him to help him get the best results out of the team. Do we still believe in Erik? Absolutely. We think Erik is the right coach for us and we’re fully backing him.”

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Speaking before United’s return to Premier League action against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, Ten Hag said: “We are working and progressing. We have to sign players but we made a choice to sign very young players.

“Last year (Rasmus) Hojlund, this year (Joshua) Zirkzee, Leny Yoro. We believe in them, this moment and also for the future, and we have to build them. We have to work with the squad and that takes time.

“Also I am impatient and I want to go straight forward but also we had success in the last two seasons and we have to work hard to bring more success.”

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Analysing Ashworth and Berrada’s Man Utd transfer briefing – ‘Erik has our full backing’

(Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)

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Nick Saban sat on the college football throne for years. Is Kirby Smart ready for the crown?

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Nick Saban sat on the college football throne for years. Is Kirby Smart ready for the crown?

ATHENS, Ga. — The fans walking into a Georgia baseball game on an April afternoon cannot look in on the football practice taking place across from the stadium. But there is no escaping the booming, amplified voice radiating over Rutherford Street.

“Take his f—ing job!”

“His ass wants to quit!”

“Do it again! Get it right!”

Kirby Smart roams the practice field holding a microphone, peppering his players with … feedback between each rep. Several dozen visitors, including donors, high school coaches and recruits, are treated to a colorful two-hour soundtrack of Smart’s gravelly South Georgia accent.

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Nick Saban had his straw hat. Jim Harbaugh, his baseball cap and khakis.

Smart has his microphone.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning was an assistant under Smart from 2018-21. He said a respondent in an anonymous team survey one year he was there suggested Smart ditch the microphone. So he did — for one day.

“The next day he came back out with the microphone (and) ripped into some coaches’ asses, some players as well,” Lanning said. “Nobody’s safe when the microphone is out.”

Smart, a former Georgia defensive back, was Alabama’s defensive coordinator under Saban for four national championships before landing the head-coaching job at his alma mater in 2015. He succeeded Mark Richt, who won 74 percent of his games in 15 seasons but never played for a national championship. Smart, 48, has won two national championships — the school’s first since 1980 — and played for a third. He has won 86 percent of his SEC games, including 42 consecutive regular-season games.

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With Saban’s retirement and Harbaugh’s return to the NFL after last season, Smart should, in theory, be the face of the sport.

“There’s a pretty good chance he’ll go down as one of the greatest coaches ever,” said Richt, now an ACC Network analyst. “He’s young, he’s got time, he’s got the resources and the talent base in the state of Georgia. He’s got a lot going for him.”

But there’s one aspect of Smart’s program that clouds his myriad successes.

Since a January 2023 street-racing crash that killed recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy and player Devin Willock, 10 Georgia players and one staff member have been arrested for driving-related incidents. That includes starting running back Trevor Etienne, suspended for this year’s season opener following a March DUI arrest, and cornerback Daniel Harris, who was held out of Georgia’s last game after being arrested for driving 106 mph.

“Instead of the narrative of Kirby Smart has taken over as the best coach in the country now that Saban’s gone, he’s got the best program, he’s got the No. 1 team — that’s not in the first paragraph anymore,” ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum said. “It’s what’s wrong with Georgia.”

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This weekend, Smart’s second-ranked Bulldogs visit No. 4 Alabama, the longtime thorn to Smart’s program; Alabama beat Georgia in two of the past three SEC Championship Games. But that was with Smart’s former mentor, Saban, on the sideline. For the first time, Smart is the more established figure in the rivalry, with Kalen DeBoer just three games into his Alabama tenure.

And Smart has a Georgia team that’s the first since 2007 to be favored to win at Alabama.

“Kirby is in a special class,” said Georgia president Jere Morehead, who taught Smart in a business law class in the mid-’90s. “I knew he’d be successful. But his level of success is beyond anything I could’ve imagined.”

Unlike his mentor, Smart has remained largely anonymous nationally. He’s not in Aflac or Vrbo commercials. He does not make “The Pat McAfee Show” appearances. But his level of success through eight seasons as an SEC head coach largely mirrors Saban’s — two national championships apiece.


Smart first worked for Saban at LSU in 2004, before spending one season as the running backs coach at Georgia. He reunited with Saban for one season with the Miami Dolphins before following Saban to Alabama, where Smart took over defensive play calling after one season. Together, they produced top-10 defenses for eight consecutive seasons, including a 2011 unit that allowed just 8.2 points per game, the fewest at the FBS level in 23 years.

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While working as an ESPN color analyst during that time, former Georgia and NFL offensive lineman Matt Stinchcomb would sometimes call Alabama games. Smart, his former college teammate, invited him to sit in on meetings with the linebackers the night before the game.

“I remember sitting there and being completely floored,” Stinchcomb said. “What was remarkable was Kirby’s mastery of the system and his ability to communicate it in a way where his guys could execute. I’d been around a bunch of coaches as a player and a commentator. He stood out.”

It seemed a matter of time before an SEC school made him its head coach. That school turned out to be his alma mater.

In 2015, when Smart was hired, Georgia had gone more than a decade since winning an SEC championship. Smart ended the drought in his second season in 2017, then brought the Bulldogs within one Tua Tagovailoa-to-DeVonta Smith miracle of winning a national title, too. Smart quickly established himself as a beast in recruiting, signing the nation’s No. 1 or 2 class between 2018-20.

While “intense” is the word most frequently used to describe the coach, those who have worked with him marvel more at his management skills and attention to detail. Smart, a four-time member of the SEC’s Academic Honor Roll while a player, holds a degree in finance from Georgia’s Terry College of Business.

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“The guy could step out of coaching and take over a corporation and be a CEO and manage it the right way,” said Will Muschamp, a college teammate of Smart’s and now an analyst at Georgia. “His preparation, attention to detail, his anticipation skills — whether it’s roster management, staff management, scheme, recruiting, whatever the case may be — the guy does a really good job of managing those things.”

“There’s not a guy I’ve been around that maybe coaches harder and more intense than coach Smart, but his intelligence is what has always impressed me,” Lanning said. “Never doubt the fact that he knows exactly what he’s thinking all the time. He remembers moments and situations. It’s super impressive.”

As he has become one of the most established coaches in his profession, Smart has embraced his role as a statesman, both as chair of the NCAA Football Rules committee and, following Saban’s retirement, the most influential coaching voice in his conference. Last spring at the SEC’s annual meetings in Destin, Fla., Smart led the discussions about the new NCAA roster limits in football, which eventually landed at 105.

“Kirby’s much more vocal than coach (Saban) in those settings,” said Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, who worked alongside Smart for two seasons at Alabama. “(Saban) obviously, when he spoke up, everybody listened, but (he) didn’t really kind of comment on everything unless it was something that was really important to him, critical to him. Kirby kind of comments on every category.”

Between the active role he has taken off the field and the winning on the field, it should put Smart in a statesman-like role. But the never-ending string of arrests in his program hangs like a storm cloud.

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“If you look at (each case) individually it doesn’t really change your opinion (of Smart). But the combination does sound bad,” said Finebaum.


Kirby Smart (here in 2023) has had major success in a short amount of time as head coach at Georgia. (Kim Klement Neitzel / USA Today via Imagn Images)

On Jan. 14, 2023, Georgia celebrated its second consecutive national championship with a parade and stadium celebration. At 2:45 a.m. that night, LeCroy, a 24-year-old recruiting staffer driving a university-leased Ford Expedition with three passengers at 104 mph, engaged in a high-speed race with Bulldogs star Jalen Carter, a soon-to-be top-10 NFL draft pick. LeCroy and one of the passengers, Willock, an offensive lineman, were killed when the vehicle crashed into two power poles and a tree. Toxicology reports showed LeCroy’s blood alcohol level at the time was .197.

Carter pleaded no contest to reckless driving and racing charges and was sentenced to 80 hours of community service.

One of the passengers in LeCroy’s vehicle, Victoria Bowles, sued the LeCroy estate, Carter and the Georgia Athletic Association, claiming she suffered spinal cord injuries that have caused “likely permanent disability.” Bowles, who was seeking around $172,000 in damages from each defendant, reached a settlement with Georgia last month.

Citing text messages between various recruiting staff members in the years prior to the crash, the complaint alleged staffers “regularly drove recruits and their guests after consuming alcohol.”

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UGA disputed the claims.

Smart has suspended several of the arrested players, but said this summer that the school’s name, image and likeness collective has withheld payments from players as penalties for arrests and speeding tickets.

The reckless driving incidents in his program continue to occur, including three this summer and Harris’ arrest two days before Georgia played at Kentucky on Sept. 14.

He was asked in July why his program is so disciplined in everything but this area.

“It’s a great question,” Smart said. “And I’d love every solution possible because we actually write down now every time we talk about it and every time we address it, and we have someone in every meeting that hears that … it was like 162 times it’s been mentioned.”

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His main strategy has been inviting guest speakers on the subject. They’ve included former NFL star Donte Stallworth, who was suspended for the 2009 season after striking and killing a pedestrian while intoxicated; former Georgia and NFL defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter, who was arrested on a DUI charge during Smart’s first season; and a prosecutor in the case of ex-Raiders receiver Henry Ruggs, currently in prison in Las Vegas for killing a woman while driving 156 mph.

Carson Beck, Georgia’s starting quarterback who now famously drives a Lamborghini, said the message is indeed hammered home.

“It’s been a serious issue on our team. But also we have hundreds of players, and a large percentage of our guys are very focused and very on top of that,” Beck said. “But obviously there are guys who have made mistakes, and there are consequences for that.”

Still, the incidents keep coming.

In addition to the driving incidents, receiver Rara Thomas was dismissed last month following an arrest on domestic violence charges, his second in two years. (The first charge was pleaded down.)

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Richt, who dealt with numerous players’ legal issues during his time in Athens, said Smart is taking undue criticism.

“You can put everything you want in place,” Richt said, “but you can’t live their life for them, you can’t babysit them, you can’t be with them every step of the way to prevent them making a bad decision sometimes.”



Nick Saban, left, and Kirby Smart are forever tied. (Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)

Smart modeled many facets of his program on the juggernaut he helped Saban build at Alabama. Now he is attempting to build a dynasty that matches or exceeds the lofty bar his mentor set. In March, Smart told ESPN, “We’ve been relevant every year but the first one. But I want more than relevance. I want dominance.”

Asked what dominance looks like in a 12-team College Football Playoff, Smart said, “Dominance would not be defined by just getting in, it would be by getting to the Final Four or whatever you would call it in football. … Because at the end of the day, you’re gonna have to beat a really good football team in order to make it to the finals.”

In May, Georgia signed Smart to a 10-year contract that pays an average $13 million per year, making him the highest-paid coach in the sport. Saban previously held that title, making $11.4 million in his last season. It’s another point to be made that Smart is, as Lanning puts it, “the new GOAT.”

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“I don’t want to put the mantle on him as being the next Nick Saban. That’s sort of an unfair place to put him at the beginning of a football season,” Morehead said. “I’m confident that going forward he will continue to enjoy great success.”

But the latest player arrests this summer prompted some writers to make comparisons to a more polarizing national championship coach whose legacy has been clouded over time by his players’ myriad off-field issues. One columnist likened Smart more to Urban Meyer than Saban.

Smart, notably, has changed his public tone on the off-field issues, from saying last year that it was a national problem, to dropping that and saying as recently this week that the issues “are terribly disappointing and something that we don’t stand for.”

Morehead calls the incidents “unacceptable” but lauds Smart for how he’s handled them.

“I’d really love to know how many other schools have brought in the outside speakers we’ve brought in, or have taken the disciplinary measures against violators that we’ve taken,” he said.

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Smart certainly holds players accountable on the field. Even at practice, he’s the guy everyone sees getting heated during games. It’s often a mixture of humor and scolding, but always intense.

Star safety Malaki Starks, now in his third year in the program, says his coach seems to exist with a permanent chip on his shoulder. Which may seem odd given his accomplishments that few can match.

“When I first got here, I said, ‘Why are you like this? Like, what’s up with you?’” Starks said. “He just told me that he’s obsessed with getting better every day.”

Smart’s accomplishments no doubt will remain closely linked to Saban’s. Is he ready to take his mentor’s place atop the college football coaching hierarchy?

If so, the first step takes place Saturday at Saban’s former home stadium.

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(Top photo: Rich von Biberstein / Icon Sportswire via Getty)

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Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid survival and the soft superpowers behind his success

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Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid survival and the soft superpowers behind his success

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was in typically relaxed form when he spoke to the media before Tuesday’s La Liga game at home to Deportivo Alaves this week.

“I’ve been lucky enough to coach 300 games at the best club in the world,” Ancelotti said. “To be on this bench is something special. To sit there 300 times… I’m not saying it’s a miracle, but almost.”

To reach such a milestone at any big European club is a superb achievement. It is especially impressive at Real Madrid, given president Florentino Perez’s history of hiring and firing coaches. Only one manager has taken charge of more games at Madrid: Miguel Munoz, with 605 between 1959 and 1974.

It helps that during both of Ancelotti’s spells as Madrid manager (he was in charge from 2013-2015 and returned in 2021) the team won the Champions League, first in 2014 and then in 2022 and 2024. But winning trophies alone is often not enough to ensure job security at the Bernabeu.

Just 12 months after delivering Madrid’s long-awaited tenth European Cup in 2014, Ancelotti was fired by Perez as serious issues arose in their relationship. His second spell has also featured several rocky moments — while also delivering two more Champions League titles.

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To survive, and thrive, in arguably the most demanding environment in football is, as Ancelotti himself recognised this week, almost miraculous.

So how has he done it?


Over almost three decades working as a manager (he started at Italian club Reggiana in 1995), Ancelotti has acquired plenty of experience working for big characters used to issuing orders and seeing them quickly followed.

At AC Milan (2001-2009), Silvio Berlusconi was the owner — as well as the domineering prime minister of Italy for part of Ancelotti’s spell. His ultimate boss at Chelsea (2009-2011) was Roman Abramovich, a secretive Russian oligarch. At Paris Saint-Germain (2011-2013), the president was Nasser Al Khelaifi, a close associate of the ruling powers in Qatar.

Between his spells at Madrid his superiors were Bayern Munich’s self-confident president Uli Hoeness (Ancelotti was there for 2016-17), Napoli’s larger-than-life president Aurelio de Laurentiis (during 2018-19) and Everton’s majority owner Farhad Moshiri (2019-2021).

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Ancelotti’s 2016 book — Quiet Leadership: winning hearts, minds and matches — includes a whole section on “managing up”, discussing his experiences dealing with colourful and powerful bosses.

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Co-written with former Chelsea director Mike Forde and management consultant Chris Brady, it was published between the Italian being fired by Madrid in June 2015 and him joining Bayern the following summer.

At Milan, Ancelotti wrote, it soon became clear certain realities had to be accepted: “With Berlusconi I learned very quickly that, since he owned Milan, my job was to please Berlusconi.”

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Ancelotti and Silvio Berlusconi pictured in January 2006 (Giuseppe Cacace/AFP via Getty Images)

On joining Chelsea, Abramovich instructed him to play a possession-based style of football. To do so, Ancelotti asked for playmaker Andrea Pirlo but when that was not possible, he used Michael Essien in that role. The book does not complain, but readers will know these are two very different types of players.

Ancelotti could handle not getting everything he wanted in the transfer market but it was more problematic that every time Chelsea lost a game, Abramovich arrived to personally demand answers.

“(That) taught me how to deal with this different kind of president,” Ancelotti wrote in his book. “I chose not to meet aggression with aggression, it is not my way. I like to think through difficult times, address the problems coolly and with reason.”

Ancelotti decided to use the owner’s interference in his job to motivate the team — and they won a Premier League and FA Cup double in his first season in charge. He wrote that the players knew Abramovich was “on my case” and they “responded brilliantly”.

It was difficult for that approach to succeed in the long term, and Abramovich fired Ancelotti after the following season ended trophyless. Next, he joined PSG, where the general director was Leonardo, “a friend of mine from Milan”.

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Within 12 months it was clear things were not going to work out. After PSG lost to Ligue 1 rival Nice in December 2012, Leonardo told him he would be sacked if they did not beat Porto in their next game. Ancelotti realised Al Khelaifi had decided that the ‘project’ was not working, so he informed his bosses he would leave at the end of the season.


Next stop was the Bernabeu, where Ancelotti quickly realised he should just focus on coaching the first team and not worry about things outside his control. In his book, he wrote about realising “you are only ever a piece of the project” at Real Madrid. He said accepting that liberated him to focus on getting the best out of his players.

Following three seasons of predecessor Jose Mourinho’s pragmatic approach, Perez wanted a more attractive style of football at Madrid. Ancelotti set to work, allowing senior figures Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric greater responsibility. He also devised new roles for Gareth Bale and Angel Di Maria within a 4-3-3 tactical shape. It delivered ‘La Decima’ in his first season.

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The strength of the relationships Ancelotti built is shown by Ronaldo guest-writing a chapter in Quiet Leadership.

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“One of the reasons the atmosphere was so good was because Carlo protected the dressing room from the president and anything else that might upset the balance of the family,” Ronaldo wrote. “I’ve seen that he does not bow to pressure from anyone: he makes his own decisions.”


Ancelotti and Ronaldo celebrate reaching the 2014 Champions League final (Stuart Franklin – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Yet not all was perfect. Quiet Leadership also tells of Perez informing Ancelotti that Bale’s agent said his client wanted to play more centrally on the pitch. The Italian spoke directly with the player, explaining the team’s setup, and his vital role in it. He also used a press conference to tell the agent to “shut up”. Ancelotti wrote that this changed his relationship with Perez.

When Madrid lost a few games in early 2015, the club hierarchy grew concerned at a report claiming that Madrid’s training sessions were not intense enough. Ancelotti thought the squad needed more rest, especially with important players Ramos and Modric injured. The issue was never resolved, and when the season ended without a major trophy, the axe came.

Ancelotti wrote that his time at Madrid was “shorter than he’d hoped, but also longer than many who manage there”.

He added: “Leading may sometimes involve compromise, especially at the biggest clubs, but not when it comes to your expertise and you have the conviction of your decisions.”

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Returning to Madrid in summer 2021, Ancelotti was well aware of the issues that caused friction the first time around. He accepted without complaint the club adding fitness coach Antonio Pintus to his staff, and repeated often that energy and physicality were vital for success in today’s game.

But he also insisted on bringing his own son Davide, then 34, as his assistant coach. This raised eyebrows at the Bernabeu, where the number two has often been a former club legend with the president’s ear. Ancelotti talks in his book a lot about how his closest staff are like a family. Now that was literally the case.

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Ancelotti was also well aware that the president would continue to have the final say on transfer policy. That meant adapting tactics to the current squad. The team sat deeper, meaning less running for veteran midfielders Toni Kroos and Modric, and more space for Vinicius Junior to exploit. Balance came from midfielder Federico Valverde on the right wing. It paid off when Valverde assisted Vinicius Jr’s winning goal in the 2021-22 Champions League final against Liverpool.


Ancelotti is mobbed after Madrid’s victory in the 2022 Champions League final (Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

When Karim Benzema left for Saudi Arabia in summer 2023, Ancelotti wanted England captain Harry Kane as a direct replacement. That option was not seriously pursued by Perez, so instead he created a new attacking role for Jude Bellingham, who scored 23 goals as Madrid won the La Liga and Champions League double last season.

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Such success was far from inevitable. In May 2023, Madrid were thrashed 4-0 by Pep Guardiola’s City in a decisive Champions League semi-final second leg, just as Xavi’s Barcelona were easily winning the La Liga title. It was a rocky spell not unlike that which ended Ancelotti’s first term at the Bernabeu.

Ancelotti had an easy escape route — Brazil wanted him as their next national coach. His first option was always to remain in the Spanish capital, but speculation continued well into the 2023-24 campaign, with Ancelotti’s contract due to expire in June 2025.

It was an awkward situation, as Perez is not used to any coach having such strong bargaining power. The Bernabeu hierarchy considered other options, including Bayer Leverkusen coach Alonso. Meanwhile, Ancelotti’s team went on a 17-game unbeaten run, winning 14 and drawing three, including a 2-1 Clasico victory at Barcelona, putting them in control of the La Liga title race. In late December, he was offered an extension to 2026 and accepted.

“I can’t control the direction of the president, I can only hope to influence him, and the best way to do that is by winning,” Ancelotti wrote in his 2016 book.


There was another awkward moment just last month. The Ancelottis wanted Madrid to hire 38-year-old Stockport County coach Andy Mangan, who is close to Davide. Not everyone at the Bernabeu liked the idea, and in the end the Spanish authorities refused Mangan a work permit.

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That came amid a feeling around the Bernabeu that Madrid have not started the new season well, with departed playmaker Kroos badly missed. Stuttgart having more possession (54 per cent to Madrid’s 46 per cent) in last week’s Champions League group game at the Bernabeu fed a debate about the team’s style of play (even though Madrid won 3-1).

Afterwards, Ancelotti faced tough questioning from reporters well aware that Perez prefers to see his team dominating possession and playing stylish attacking football.

“Maybe we could play better, but Real Madrid fans are used to seeing ‘rock and roll’ football, not lots of touches,” he responded coolly. “We try, with our characteristics, to make the fans happy. The fans like winning more than playing well. The ideal is to win and play well.”


Ancelotti with his Real Madrid players in pre-season this August (Victor Carretero/Real Madrid via Getty Images)

It was typical Ancelotti. He made the point that his squad, especially in midfield and attack, is made up of players suited to football that is “entertaining, direct, intense, with pace”. The underlying message was that he was making the best of the players available, while everyone knew he was not primarily responsible for assembling the squad. It was all delivered calmly, showing he was in control of the situation and nobody should worry.

Not all top managers react to criticism, or interference from above, in such a way. With some, their ego gets in the way. But at this stage of his career, and his life, the 65-year-old Ancelotti has sufficient self confidence to not react to treatment others might take personally. His experience of dealing with many different owners and presidents has taught him to be philosophical.

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“I’ve learned that getting sacked — and getting recruited for that matter — is rarely just about you,” Ancelotti wrote in Quiet Leadership. “It is always about the person hiring or firing you. Do your job to the best of your ability and let others judge you because they will anyway.”

In another section of the book, he puts it differently.

“As Vito Corleone would have said in one of my favourite movies, The Godfather, ‘It’s not personal. It’s just business.’”

(Top photo: Angel Martinez – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

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