Carlo Ancelotti makes Real Madrid history against Barcelona

Regardless of the outcome, tonight’s Clásico will be a historic moment for Real Madrid, largely due to Carlo Ancelotti. The 64-year-old from Reggiolo will manage his 264th match as the coach of Los Blancos, surpassing the 263 games overseen by his former protégé, Zinedine Zidane. This achievement places Ancelotti as the second most-capped manager in the history of the club. Ahead of him remains only the legendary Miguel Muñoz, who managed 605 matches over 16 seasons, including 14 consecutive ones.

Real Madrid - Barcelona: Follow the live action here!

Ancelotti’s tenure at Real Madrid began on 18 August 2013, with a LaLiga match against Betis at the Santiago Bernabéu, where his team came from behind to win 2-1, thanks to goals from Benzema and Isco (who also made his debut in the white shirt that day) after Jorge Molina’s opening goal for Betis. In his first stint with the club, Ancelotti managed 119 games, just shy of entering the top-10 list for the most matches managed. In his current, second cycle with the club, he has already overseen 145 matches, with today’s game marking his 146th.

Ancelotti more than two-thirds winning at Madrid

The record of the capital club under Ancelotti’s leadership is impressive. He has celebrated 191 victories, translating to a win rate of 72.62% of the possible outcomes. No other coach with at least 50 matches at the helm of Real Madrid has achieved a higher win percentage.

The milestone Ancelotti reaches today is just one more in his long and successful career. He has managed 1,311 matches and won 25 titles at the elite level. Among his many achievements, Ancelotti stands as the only coach with four European Cups to his name. He is also the only one to have won (and managed) in all five of the major European leagues and has directed the most matches (197) in the Champions League.

Ancelotti hunting Zidane in titles

Tonight, Ancelotti will surpass Zidane in terms of the number of matches managed for Real Madrid and could also match him in another aspect: the number of titles won with the club. Zidane collected 11 titles during his tenure (three Champions Leagues, two La Liga titles, two Club World Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, and two Spanish Super Cups). Ancelotti, currently with 10 titles, has won two Champions Leagues, one Club World Cup, one Copa del Rey, one UEFA Super Cup, one La Liga title, and one Spanish Super Cup. In this regard, only Miguel Muñoz, with 14 titles, surpasses both of them.

Ancelotti signed a contract extension over the Christmas period for two more seasons. He expressed his desire to continue coaching: “I want to be a coach, I will be until 2026 and hopefully I can continue in 2027 and 2028. I like Madrid and I want to stay here,” he stated after extending his commitment to the club. With 264 matches and counting, Ancelotti’s history with Real Madrid continues...

Join us from about 90 minutes before kick-off as the inimitable Joe Brennan brings you live coverage of the Spanish Super Cup final. His words will make you feel like you’re at the game.