There's no two without three. From Madrid to Munich and soon to Naples, hopefully. That between Carlo Ancelotti and James Rodriguez seems a chase, but at the beginning between the two was not true love. The story was told by Arrigo Sacchi, admirer and friend of King Carlo who had just won the "Decima", the Champions League of 2014 won in Lisbon in the final-derby against Cholo Simeone's Atletico Madrid, which ended at the extra 4-1.
FLORENTINO'S LOVE - “Carletto had solid players in mind for the summer merengue shopping campaign. And instead they tell him from Madrid that they bought James Rodriguez! "Said Sacchi. In fact for a coach who had the BBC, Bale-Benzema-Ronaldo, it was more important to have someone of substance in between. Instead Florentino Perez was infatuated with the Brazilian World Cup star - in 2014 James was the leading scorer in the world championship tournament, always scoring: 6 goals in 5 races - and he didn't want to miss it.
EL “DIES” MOVES — But the peasant and work culture led Ancelotti to find a position also for the Colombian in his prestigious chessboard, somewhat lacking in the defensive phase. And so James retreats his range of action a little. He often starts from the right side in 4-3-3 to unleash his accident. Or with Izco (or Modric) and Kroos behind him, he plays behind the first tip Benzema, in 4-2-3-1. And still a fake external right in a 4-4-2 free to act between the lines, in the movements that like to develop to Ancelotti. Starts well by winning the European Super Cup and scoring in the first leg of the Super Cup against Atletico - thus entering the hearts of the fans - but the defeat in the return to Calderon will be the beginning of the end for Ancelotti. James will end the season with 17 goals in 46 appearances: it will remain his most prolific season. And it will be for this reason that in May 2015 when the Real announces a divorce with Ancelotti, the Colombian tweets: "Thanks for everything mister, in a short time I learned a lot". Neither of them could have imagined that two years later they would be back in Germany.
REVERSE IN BAVARIA - This time it is the coach who asks - in the summer of 2017, after winning the Bundesliga - James to replace Douglas Costa in the Bayern Munich squad. But this time there is no time to find the harmony, because at the end of September - after a heavy 3-0 in the Champions League in Paris with the PSG - Ancelotti is exonerated. Few games in which the coach uses it as an alternative to the offensive outsiders Robben and Ribery, but also behind Lewandowski in the 4-2-3-1 or still half right in 4-3-3. With the departure of Carletto to James his bond with the Italian was "weighed". And he rarely expressed himself at his levels. But this is the past, which makes us understand how for the Napoli coach, in his project James becomes the incursor who with fantasy and his magical left will be able to blow the tactics of the Italian defenses. The man who can solve the races even with a kick, with an invention. In short, Ancelotti wants an Italian team that is increasingly able to change skin, to have interchangeable men who do not give references to their opponents. A fascinating project. Because if there are not two without three in shared clubs, the saying also applies to the trophies won. In Madrid together they won the European and World Super Cup for clubs. In Naples they dream of the third episode.