A glimpse of the past: Luka Modric meets coach Ancelotti again. He describes their first collaboration in his autobiography ‘My Game’

Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti has become the new coach of Real Madrid, replacing French psychologist Zinédine Zidane on the bench of the world’s most famous club. This is not his first time entering the royal river, he has led the white kisses from 2013 to 2015. Even then, he worked with the star of the greatest luminosity, Luka Modric. As it was eight years ago, the Croatian midfielder describes his book ‘My Game’.

The 2012/2013 season was not very successful for the White Ballet. In fact, it was tragic. The Champions League was dominated by German clubs, Bayern Munich triumphed, and the Madrid team was eliminated in the semi-finals by Borussia Dortmund.

Even the defence of the Spanish title, which was taken with great joy by FC Barcelona of Catalonia, failed. The highlight was defeat in the final of the Royal Cup by city rivals Atlético Madrid.

The success machine was left without a trophy.

No wonder the chair has wobbled under Portuguese coach José Mourinho..

“I was just on a well-deserved summer holiday when I got the news that Carlo Ancelotti was officially the new coach of Real Madrid. I knew him well, as he knew me, because he wanted to bring me to PSG.

And now our paths have finally crossed in Madrid. Ancelotti came in as a coach who could win trophies, and a reputation as a Champions League specialist preceded him. From the moment I entered the world of Real, the story of winning the European title was always in my head.

Ten years have passed since the team’s last successful final, which was played in Glasgow. Real won their ninth title thanks to Zinédine Zidane scoring a fantastic winning goal against Bayer Leverkusen.

And as fate would have it, Zidane was Ancelotti’s assistant during his first season at Real. It was a symbolic link between a ninth and a much coveted tenth European title. La Décima, the winning of the tenth title, became almost an obsession.

Ancelotti turned out to be a great guy. He never gave the impression of a man who has won twelve major trophies, with AC Milan, Chelsea and PSG. He has also been league champion in Italy, England and France, winning the Champions League twice with Milan and the World Club Championship once.

After the temperamental Mourinho and all the fuss that surrounded him, Ancelotti’s calm nature was a welcome change. He seemed relaxed, avoided arguments and was ready to talk at any time. We liked him from day one.

The atmosphere was less tense and we could concentrate on our work. During the tour of the United States before the start of the season, we looked good. Ancelotti wanted the team to go on the counter-attack early and play aggressively and vertically.

On a personal level, our collaboration couldn’t have started better. When Ancelotti was introducing himself, journalists asked him to compare Andre Pirlo and me, and he made it clear that he valued me: “They are different, Pirlo’s place on the pitch is fixed, while Modric is more mobile, more dynamic.” That was a great tribute because Pirlo was a fantastic midfielder and Ancelotti helped him turn into a playmaker whose style and format changed the way we viewed midfielders in the deep midfield.

So now the two figures of world football have reconnected to work together. Will it be as successful again?

This and similar experiences from his eventful career are recounted in his autobiography ‘My Game’, published by Threshold.