Carlo Ancelotti and Thomas Tuchel are two of the great minds of modern football.
Tactically flexible and pragmatic coaches, the pair of Champions League-winning bosses are among the most respected managers on the planet. While at different stages of their careers, both have incredible expeirence at the elite level.
Ancelotti and Tuchel have clashed on plenty of occasions in the past in Germany, England and huge European battles. They have done battle in the 2023/24 Champions League as well, with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich drawn against one another in the semi-final of the competition.
Meetings tend to be incredibly tight between sides coached by these kings of the touchline, but how have they fared against each other overall?
The first meeting of these powerful minds came in Ancelotti’s debut in charge of Bayern, and life got off to a great start for the Italian as he guided his new club to the DFL Supercup in Der Klassiker.
Second-half strikes from Arturo Vidal and Thomas Muller helped Ancelotti to his first piece of silverware as Bayern head coach.
Their second duel would come just three months later in the Bundesliga, with Tuchel triumphing on this occasion. On his return to Dortmund from Bayern, Mario Gotze slid a cross into the path of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who turned home for the only goal of the game after 11 minutes.
The result saw Dortmund close the gap on Bayern and RB Leipzig ahead of them, but Tuchel’s men were unable to stay the course.
Fast forward to April and Bayern were back doing Bayern things, leading the Bundesliga with little competition and hammering Dortmund in Der Klassiker at the Allianz Arena.
The victory moved Bayern within an inch of yet another Meisterschale and it was former Dortmund star Robert Lewandowski that proved the visitors’ kryptonite.
The Pole’s excellent free kick added to Franck Ribery’s fourth-minute strike before Raphael Guerreiro reduced the deficit with 20 minutes gone. But a trademark Arjen Robben strike and a Lewandowski penalty helped the hosts towards becoming champions.
While Bayern had the last laugh in the league, Dortmund got some sweet revenge in the DFB Pokal semi-final several weeks later.
The visitors had got off to the perfect start when Marco…
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