Ancelotti has last laugh on Juventus

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -- Carlo Ancelotti had the last laugh on Wednesday as his AC Milan side won the Champions League final against Juventus, the club that sacked him in such cruel fashion two years ago.

Ancelotti's dismissal was announced by Juventus at halftime in the final league game of the season, even though they were still in with a chance of winning the title.

To add to the humiliation, Marcello Lippi, the man he had been brought into replace, returned to win the title in the next two seasons.

Ancelotti went to Milan, the club with whom he won the European Cup in 1989 and 1990 as a player, and they began this season in sparkling form.

But a dip in mid-season cost them the Serie A title and his position has regularly been questioned in Italy.

Victory on Wednesday saw him utterly vindicated.

It made him only the fourth man to win Europe's top club prize as player and coach and had him contemplating a future that should be far more secure.

"You have to learn to live through criticism," he told reporters. "You have to be able to manage it.

"I'm just so glad we've won. I feel at home at Milan and it's a dream come true to come back and win the European Cup."

Asked if he expected offers from other clubs to come in, he just smiled.

"I'm at Milan and I'm glad about what we've achieved," he said. "Right now, it's party time."

 

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