Carlo Ancelotti was given a welcome surprise when he arrived for his first day at Bayern Munich on Monday as his predecessor Pep Guardiola left the Italian a good luck message.
The Spaniard, who ended his three-year association with Bayern Munich at the end of last season to take up the reins at Manchester City, personally penned the note to Ancelotti.
Guardiola, who played in Italy with Roma and Brescia during his prestigious career as a player, even wrote the message in Ancelotti’s mother-tongue.
The notes translates to: ‘With high esteem, may you have good luck Carlo!’
And Ancelotti said of the message: ‘Yes this is Guardiola’s message and he is saying good luck for the new season. It was very kind.
‘We have a good relationship. He did a fantastic job here at Bayern in the last years and I hope to continue this job and if it’s possible to do better.’
The 57-year-old looked in high spirits as he was officially unveiled as Bayern Munich’s new manager following his year-long sabbatical.
The Italian tactician wasted no time in getting into the thick of things by putting the likes of Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Xabi Alonso through their paces.
He was joined on the training field by his trusted assistant Paul Clement, who worked under Ancelotti at Chelsea, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-German before a failed attempt in management at Derby.
Ancelotti, who was sacked by Real Madrid just 12 months after leading the Spanish giants to their 10th European Cup win, has revealed his happiness at managing yet another ‘fantastic club’.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Ancelotti said in a mix of English and German: ‘I’m very happy to be here. Bayern is a fantastic club and I’m really excited to start.
‘I’m really happy to be here and I think it will be a fantastic experience for me and I hope also for Bayern.
‘I’m living in a hotel but I think in two or three days my house will be ready. I’m going to live in the centre of the city and most of the time I like to be here at the training ground.
‘These are fantastic training facilities. The players and I will start on Monday to prepare for this new season and everyone hopes it will be a fantastic season.
‘We’ll try to be the best we can. We want to be competitive in all competitions, in the Bundesliga, the cup and the Champions League.
‘I’m really happy with the squad. I think we have a fantastic squad. We’ve signed two fantastic players [Mats Hummels and Renato Sanches] who did really well at the European Championship.
‘So we’ll get to work and we want to be competitive in all competitions. Of course, we want to play good football, fancy football, for our supporters to enjoy.’
Ancelotti, who was given a pair of Lederhosens – the traditional Bavarian item of clothing – on his arrival at the club, has big shoes to follow.
Guardiola was unable to guide Bayern to a Champions League triumph but did win three Bundesliga titles, the German Cup on two occasions, the Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
Bayern have already splashed out an initial fee of £28million on Portuguese sensation Sanches and re-signed Hummels from Borussia Dortmund for £30m ahead of the new season.
Ancelotti’s first league game at Bayern comes against Werder Bremen during the opening weekend of the Bundesliga season on August 26.