The Italian has already steered Chelsea to the Barclays Premier League title in his first season in England and it could get even better for the former AC Milan coach if Chelsea beat Portsmouth in today's FA Cup final at Wembley.

Ancelotti has worked with a host of star coaches since he retired from playing in 1992, including current England boss Fabio Capello and former manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Ancelotti has nothing but praise for the late Nils Liedholm, who was in charge at Roma in the 1980s, and his successor Eriksson.

He cites both of them, along with Capello - who was coach of AC Milan during his last season as a player - and former Italy coach Arrigo Sacchi as having the most influence on his managerial career.

Sacchi never played professional football and yet Ancelotti insists he was the man who changed the game in Italy.

"I had a fantastic experience in Italy," said Ancelotti. "I trained as a player with fantastic coaches. The first was Liedholm and the second was Eriksson, who was a fantastic coach tactically.

"I trained with Capello and I stayed a lot of times with Sacchi. I think I took something from everyone.

"Liedholm was fantastic. He always stayed very calm and had a good relationship with the players. Eriksson was fantastic tactically and I learned a lot of things. Sacchi was the number one because he changed the philosophy of Italian football. More attacking play, more pressure, more organisation on the pitch and the work during training. I was very lucky to meet these coaches in my career.

"I started to train to be a coach when I finished my career as a player. I had the opportunity to be the assistant coach to Sacchi in the national team. I did three years with Sacchi as assistant and after that, my first team was Reggiana in the Second Division where we won the league.

"Capello was the coach in my last season as a player. I played my last game against Verona and I came on from the bench in the second half and scored two goals. I had never scored two goals in my career before that."

Ancelotti won the Italian Cup four times as a player and as Milan coach in 2003 against a Roma side managed by Capello.

The Italian's success stems from knowing just how important it is to keep control of the pressure on the players in a cup final.

"In my career I won a lot of Italian Cups - I won four as a player in 1980, 81, 84 and 1986. As a coach I won the Italian Cup in 2003 and that was my favourite against Roma, who were managed by Capello.

"Now there is a great opportunity to win the double for the first time for Chelsea. It is a fantastic motivation for me.

"The only thing to look at is controlling the pressure on the players. If the players feel too much pressure, you have to change this and maintain control. You have to have courage and personality. In a final, fear is the worst thing."