Real Madrid: Ancelotti in a race to renew UEFA coaching licence

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti’s coaching licence expired on 31 December, meaning that in order to continue to coach his side from the touchline, under UEFA regulations the Italian must sit a 15-hour course to renew his permit.

According to Corriere dello Sport, Ancelotti was aware of the upcoming expiry and duly sat the necessary course last October under the auspice of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and passed it without any issues. The problem lies in the bureaucracy: the course in question has to be completed with the Italian Football Federation. Ancelotti is preparing to cover the requirement this week ahead of Madrid’s Copa del Rey meeting with Athletic.

Ancelotti applied online to complete the course at the RFEF’s headquarters in Madrid last October. UEFA coaching licences have a three-year duration, at which stage they must be renewed to remain valid.

In Italy, the news has been met with a mixture of surprise and exasperation, with several observers expressing their indignation that a coach of Ancelotti’s stature, who has overseen over 1,200 top-level games at clubs including Real Madrid, AC Milan, Juventus, PSG, Bayern, Chelsea and Everton, was not given dispensation to complete the course in Spain. One of the most critical was journalist and author Alessandro Alciatto, who vented his feelings on social media.

Meanwhile, Ancelotti is confident the matter will be smoothed out before Madrid face Athletic in the Copa quarter-finals, with the squad due to return to training under the Italian at Valdebebas on Monday afternoon.