PARIS. – Carlo Ancelotti led Real Madrid to Champions League soccer glory in 2014 and now he is hoping to dump the holders out of this season’s quarter-finals as coach of Bayern Munich.
The two giants are familiar foes and they meet for the 23rd time – a record in European competition – at the Allianz Arena tomorrow night in the first leg of a heavyweight tie. Madrid traditionally have fared very poorly in visits to Germany and Bayern are unbeaten at home in more than a year, winning their last seven on the bounce before their own fans.
Bayern fans will never forget their crushing 4-0 loss to Ancelotti’s Madrid in the 2014 semi-finals, however, the result remaining their heaviest home loss in Europe. Having masterminded the Spanish side’s run to glory that campaign, Ancelotti was brought in to Bayern to take them all the way in a competition in which they suffered three straight semi-final losses under Pep Guardiola.
His opposite number this midweek will be Zinedine Zidane, his former assistant who led Madrid to Champions League glory last season. – AFP.



