I told Chelsea I didn’t want Emenalo as my assistant, Ancelotti reveals in memoirs

Former Chelsea coach, Carlo Ancelotti, has revealed that he did not want Michael Emenalo as his assistant when the former Nigerian international was appointed by Roman Abramovich in November 2010.

In his upcoming memoirs, titled ‘Quiet Leadership: Winning Hearts, Minds and Matches’, the accomplished Italian coach said Emenalo was appointed to replace the sacked Ray Wilkins without his knowledge or consent.

“We lost to Liverpool, 2-0, and my assistant Ray Wilkins was fired days later. Another lesson learnt. I could have fought harder, but I knew that it was a done deal. Michael Emenalo, the club’s head of opposition scouting, was made assistant manager and I had to introduce him to the squad. The English players in particular were not happy with the way things had been done,” he wrote in the book, which extracts are being published exclusively by The Times of London.

“I was surprised when the club changed Wilkins. It was not discussed with me first. In my first year at the club Ray was, of course, important because of the language – he spoke Italian – and he was a good reference for the players. In my second year in the job, although I certainly didn’t want to, I could do without him.

“The club had made the decision – Ray was already gone. When Abramovich decided to make Emenalo the assistant manager – my assistant – I told the club that I didn’t need another assistant. I already had Paul Clement and Bruno Demichelis, and between us we had everything covered.

“I didn’t have any personal problem with Emenalo, but he was not comfortable in his new role. He was not used to being an assistant manager – his experience was in scouting – but the club put him there anyway. He was certainly not comfortable in front of the players, because they knew him from his time in a certain role, not in his new position.”

Emenalo, who represented Nigeria at the 1994 World Cup in the US, is now technical director of the London club.

Ancelotti, who won a historic league and FA Cup double with Chelsea in 2009/2010 season, also revealed his last days at the club.

He wrote: “In January (2011) the club made two marquee signings – Fernando Torres from Liverpool and David Luiz from Benfica – which lifted spirits, but not for long. Sadly, Torres was not at his best after a period of injury at Liverpool.

“In April we played Manchester United in the Champions League quarter-finals, with the feeling that we would have to win to save our season. The night before the second leg, Abramovich addressed the players, telling them they had to win or there would be huge changes to the team. He told me individually that if we lost then I was not to bother coming back to work.

“I wasn’t sure if he was serious. We lost and I did go back to work, though I felt like a dead man walking. Again, I suppose I could have confronted the owner, but it seemed pointless.

“We lost, 1-0 away at Everton, on the last day of the season. I’m told that the CEO was driving away from the stadium when he got the call to say, “Turn around and tell Carlo he is fired.” I think the logic was that there was no point in waiting and telling me later. At least this way I could say goodbye to the players and staff before the off season.

“That night, when the team arrived back in London, the senior players – Didier Drogba, John Terry, Frank Lampard and the others – took me out for dinner and a few drinks. I had never known that before in my career. I think  I was liked.”

Ancelotti, who will handle Bayern Munich of Germany next season, is the only manager to have won the Champions League thrice and reached four finals.

He has coached Milan, Juventus (both in Italy), Paris St Germain (France) and Madrid (Spain).