Carlo Ancelotti<\/a>. It comes out every time he\u2019s asked a question. It doesn\u2019t matter what the nature of the inquisition is, it is met with the same expression, head leaning to one side, with that eyebrow raised.<\/p>\nHow can John Terry still be your captain when he\u2019s copped off with a former team-mate\u2019s girlfriend? Same expression. <\/p>\n
Is Ashley Cole a lunatic for not only bringing an air rifle to training but shooting a work experience kid with it? Same expression.<\/p>\n
And yet, when quizzed on television prior to kick-off at Old Trafford on Tuesday evening, Ancelotti looked uncharacteristically flustered. The questions were not all that probing \u2013 \u201cHow will you be lining up? Is it 4-3-3? Why no Didier Drogba?\u201d \u2013 but the previously unflappable Italian could not look his inquisitor in the eye.<\/p>\n
Conspiracy theorists will leap on this as a sign that he did not want to talk about his team because it wasn\u2019t \u201chis\u201d team. The decision to play \u00a350 million Fernando Torres seemed very much like Roman Abramovich wanted to see his star signing in action.<\/p>\n
The Chelsea owner was even in the stands in Manchester, an extremely rare appearance at one of his club\u2019s games anywhere but Stamford Bridge. He hadn\u2019t come all that way to watch Drogba \u2013 that\u2019s so 2008.<\/p>\n
Except by the 46th minute, he was watching Drogba. Torres was too, from his vantage point on the Chelsea bench, having barely had a kick yet again in the blue shirt of his new club.<\/p>\n
And then Drogba scored, and suddenly Chelsea were one goal away from pulling off a result that seemed so desperately unlikely when Javier Hernandez had put Manchester United 1-0 up on the night, 2-0 up on aggregate in their Champions League quarter-final tie, shortly before half-time of the second leg.<\/p>\n
One goal away from knocking out the Premier League leaders. One goal away from advancing to yet another Champions League semi-final, their sixth of the Abramovich era. One goal away from stepping closer to that elusive European triumph that their Russian owner craves so much.<\/p>\n
It lasted about as long as it took you to read that last paragraph. United swept up the other end of the field, the imperious Ryan Giggs fed Park Ji-Sung, and the Korean coolly slotted home the winner. <\/p>\n
You half-expected footage of Abramovich in the stands at full-time giving the thumbs down sign. Nobody messes with the Roman empire.<\/p>\n
Just ask Jose Mourinho. The trigger for his departure in 2007 was his inability to get the best out of Andriy Shevchenko, Abramovich\u2019s weapon of choice to add European glory to their domestic supremacy.<\/p>\n
Shevchenko wasn\u2019t quite as goal-shy as Torres is at present, but it wasn\u2019t working and it didn\u2019t matter that Mourinho was revered like no other Chelsea manager, perhaps no other manager period, ever had been. He was gone.<\/p>\n
Ancelotti has been stoic whenever questioned about his future in recent weeks. He says he does not fear the future, has a contract with Chelsea and is not concerned about losing his job.<\/p>\n
It is admirable, it might even be true \u2013 but he must have long since accepted that this will be his final season in charge at Stamford Bridge. Adrift in the league race, bundled out of the FA Cup at home by Everton, and now, crucially, out of Europe. <\/p>\n
If Ancelotti does not fear the future, it is because of his awareness of the nature of the managerial merry-go-round. A two-time Champions League winning coach, who also achieved the English domestic double last season, will not be out of work for long and it will surprise nobody if he should reappear next season.<\/p>\n
How ironic that his likely destination will be Rome. There is already one Roman who will not be standing in his way.\ufeff<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
Continued here:
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![\"Carlo](\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/5ee705b0126101_news.jpg.jpg\")
<\/p><\/div>\n