Real Madrid lure coach Ancelotti back from Everton

Carlo Ancelotti has rejoined Real Madrid as coach for the next three seasons, the Spanish club said on Tuesday.

“Hello Madrid!” the 61-year-old Italian, who succeeds Zinedine Zidane, posted on Twitter.

Ancelotti, who won the Champions League for Real Madrid during his first spell at the club between 2013 and 2015, will sign his contract and be presented to the media on Wednesday, the club said in a statement.

It took less than a week for Real Madrid to turn the page on Zidane, who ended his less successful second spell as coach, last Thursday, criticising the lack of confidence shown in him by the club hierarchy.

Instead, Ancelotti is about to be reunited with club president Florentino Perez who ruthlessly ousted the coach in 2015, just one year after he led the club to a 10th Champions League title, the long-awaited Decima.

Ancelotti was under contract until 2024 with Everton, but the Italian, whose wife is of Spanish origin, has always said he enjoys life in Madrid.

His return is a gesture of appeasement sent to the club’s stars.

The heavyweights of the dressing room will welcome a coach adept, like his former protege Zidane, at benevolent and protective management, rather than the more driven approach of Antonio Conte, another Italian contender for the position. (AFP)