Josh McEachran

McEachran warming up for Chelsea during the 2010–11 season
Personal information
Full name	Joshua Mark McEachran
Date of birth	(1993-03-01) 1 March 1993 (age 19)
Place of birth	Oxford, England
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Chelsea
Number	TBC
Youth career
2001–2010	Chelsea
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2010–	Chelsea	11	(0)
2012	→ Swansea City (loan)	4	(0)
National team‡
2007–2009	England U16	5	(0)
2009–2010	England U17	12	(1)
2010–	England U19	6	(1)
2010–	England U21	8	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 March 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 February 2012

Joshua Mark "Josh" McEachran (born 1 March 1993 in Oxford, England) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea. He is a left-footed central creative midfield player.

Early life[link]

McEachran was born in Oxford to Scottish parents.^[2] He grew up in the village of Kirtlington with his sister Danielle and younger brothers Zach, Will and George. He began playing football for Garden City F.C. in the Oxford Mail Boys League, where he was spotted by a Chelsea scout.^[3] He then joined the Blues as an academy player at the age of 8 and rose through the ranks while juggling his academic responsibilities at Marlborough School in Woodstock.^[4]

Club career[link]

Chelsea[link]

McEachran made his competitive first team debut for Chelsea against MŠK Žilina on 15 September 2010 as a substitute.^[5] He became the first player to be born after the UEFA Champions League started on 25 November 1992 to take part in the competition.^[5][6] McEachran made his home debut in a League Cup tie against Newcastle United, where he again came on as a substitute. He made his Premier League debut on 25 September in a 1–0 defeat to Manchester City.^[7] On 23 November 2010 manager Carlo Ancelotti announced that McEachran would make his first start against MŠK Žilina, which he did. He followed this up by playing the entire game away to Marseille in a UEFA Champions League group game.

McEachran started for Chelsea against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge on 15 May 2011, a 2–2 draw at home to Newcastle and in total, he made nine starts and 13 sub appearances in campaign with then manager Carlo Ancelotti preferring to use him in a deep midfield role. His inclusion in the line-up was viewed by pundits as a suggestion that the Chelsea administration are keen to retain McEachran and that they recognise the importance of younger players in an otherwise ageing team.^[8] He then came off the bench to make his ninth league appearance away to Everton F.C. in the final game of the 2010-11 Premier League season.^[9] In his debut season in the Chelsea first team, McEachran was awarded the Chelsea Young Player of The Year award on 19 May 2011.^[10]

McEachran playing in Champions League

On 15 July 2011, he signed a new five-year deal, alongside team-mate Ryan Bertrand who signed a four-year deal with Chelsea.^[11] Fifteen days later, he scored his first Chelsea senior team goal against Aston Villa with a first minute tap-in to open the scoring. Chelsea went on to win the game 2–0 after a 58th minute Fernando Torres roundup and won the Barclays Asia Trophy. On 12 August 2011, Chelsea announced he would wear the number 20 shirt, last worn by Deco, for the 2011/12 season.^[12] He requested a loan transfer to Wigan Athletic but Chelsea turned down his request, with Chelsea citing him in their first team plans.^[13] He started the Carling Cup match against Fulham which Chelsea won 4–3 on penalties.^[14] Josh McEachran made his first Premier League appearance of the season as he came on as a 82 minute substitute in Chelsea's 4–1 win over Swansea.^[15] Josh McEachran started the Carling Cup match against Everton and won a penalty for Chelsea, the game ended a 2–1 win for Chelsea.^[16]

Loan to Swansea City[link]

On 17 January 2012, McEachran completed a loan move to Swansea City.^[17] On finalising the deal he told Blues News that he was looking forward to working under former Chelsea reserves coach and Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers. 'I want to get game time to be honest, and it will be good playing for Brendan. Swansea play really good football and I'm looking forward to it.'^[18] McEachran was given the number 17 jersey. McEachran made his debut for Swansea City against Sunderland coming off the bench in the 66th minute for Gylfi Sigurdsson, the match ended 2–0 loss for Swansea City.^[19] McEachran made his first start for Swansea in a FA Cup match against Bolton Wandarers which ended in a 1–2 defeat.

International career[link]

McEachran represented and captained England at U-16 level and played a key role in the England U17 side to win the 2010 European Under-17 Football Championship. He quickly progressed through the ranks and has since and has gone on to become a regular in the England U19 side and was further rewarded for his good early season form with Chelsea's first team by making his debut for England U21 against Germany on 16 November 2010 at the age of 17. Mceachran had become a full England U21 international at 18 years of age.

Because of his Scottish parentage, McEachran is eligible to represent Scotland.^[20] In February 2012, the Scottish Football Association performance director, Mark Wotte, had a chat with McEachran, but said that he did not sense any desire for the player to switch allegiance from England.^[21]

In April 2012, it was announced he was part of the 80-man shortlist for the Great Britain football team in the London Olympics, 2012.

Style of play[link]

McEachran in October 2010, receiving advice from Chelsea's assistant manager Ray Wilkins

McEachran's best attributes are his ability of unlocking defenses with his close control on the ball, vision and composure. McEachran has said he idolized Zinedine Zidane growing up by saying "With Zidane it was everything about him, his goals, his touches. He was the complete all-round midfielder.". When Zidane retired he looked up to Andrés Iniesta.^[22]

Former Chelsea player and former Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins recalled the first time he laid eyes on McEachran saying: "A couple of years back, when I had just joined Chelsea, I was watching an Under-17 match between us and Racing, a club side from Argentina. Josh was playing, despite only being 15; I'd never seen him play before, but in the first half he cut inside someone and played an inch-perfect pass inside the full-back. I turned to the other Chelsea coaches next to me and said, 'That's Liam Brady!' It was the biggest compliment I could think of at the time."^[23]

Stuart Pearce, the England national football team under-21 manager, praised McEachran after a friendly against Italy. “Chelsea think extremely highly of him and you can see why," said Pearce. "He’s got ability and vision. “All of our cutting passes probably came from him. Henri Lansbury has got the insight to play those passes but I think, in Josh, he’s got an outstanding talent, similar to Jack Wilshere, and it bodes well for us.”^[24]

Under the management of Carlo Ancelotti, McEachran was deployed mainly as a defensive midfielder in his appearances for the first team, usually replacing Michael Essien or John Obi Mikel, although his preferred position is as a centre or attacking midfielder. However, under the new Chelsea manager André Villas-Boas he was given a more advanced attacking role. Villas-Boas commented on McEachran saying "This is a youngster with so much talent, Physique-wise, there is nothing to him at the moment. In the changing room you see him getting ready to go and train and he looks nothing like a footballer. His power and pace is in his head. He went on "But you could say the same about Luka Modric, Jack Wilshere or Samir Nasri. All are built with slight physiques but they are all among the finest midfield players in the world. Josh is going that way. His brain is always five yards ahead of the rest. I see in him very much as part of the future of this club."^[25]

Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers commented on the signing of Mceachran on loan for the rest of the 2011/12 season saying: "He's a wonderful technician with the ball, with great vision. He is an immense talent, which he will demonstrate over the next number of years. Also that: "His talent is all there to see, it's pure natural ability."^[26]

Personal life[link]

McEachran has been dating Coronation Street star Brooke Vincent since May 2011. ^[27]

Club statistics[link]

As of 5 March 2012^[28]

¹Also includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Community Shield.

Discipline

As of 28 August 2011

Honours[link]

Club[link]

Chelsea

• FA Youth Cup: 2010

International[link]

England U-17

• UEFA Under-17 Championship (1): 2010

Individual[link]

• Chelsea Young Player of the Year (1): 2011
• Oxfordshire Sport Award: Sport Man of the Year 2010

References[link]

External links[link]

• Josh McEachran career stats at Soccerbase
• BBC Sport Profile

v t e England squad – 2010 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship 1 Johnstone 2 Pilatos 3 Garbutt 4 Coady 5 Chalobah 6 Wisdom 7 Keane 8 Thorne 9 Afobe 10 Berahino 11 Hall 12 Gibson 13 Butland 14 Thorpe 15 McEachran 16 Barkley 17 Wickham 18 Williams Coach: John Peacock

Carlo Ancelotti (Italian pronunciation: [ˈkarlo antʃeˈlɔtti]; born 10 June 1959) is an Italian football manager, and the current manager of Paris Saint-Germain in the French Ligue 1. Nicknamed Carletto, Ancelotti played as a midfielder and had a successful career with Roma – captaining the team – with whom he won one Scudetto and four Coppa Italia honours and was part of the legendary late 1980s Milan team with whom he won two Scudetti and two European Cups in a five-year period. He was capped 26 times and scored one goal for the Italian national team and appeared at the 1986 and 1990 World Cups.

After spells as manager of Reggiana, Parma and Juventus, Ancelotti was appointed Milan manager in 2001. He won the Scudetto in 2004, the Champions League in 2003 and 2007 and the Coppa Italia in 2003. They were also Serie A and Champions League runner-ups in 2005. He is one of six men to have won the European Cup/Champions League as player and manager. In May 2009, he was appointed Chelsea manager and in his first season led them to a historic Premier League and FA Cup Double. He became only the second non-British manager to win the double, the other being Arsène Wenger. After an uneven Premier League season in which Chelsea failed to retain the title, Ancelotti was dismissed as their manager in May 2011. On 30 December 2011, Ancelotti signed a contract with ambitious French side Paris Saint-Germain.

Club career[link]

Ancelotti began his career in 1974 with Parma. In 1979, he transferred to Roma, as captain and midfielder, where he won the Italian championship in 1983, the Coppa Italia four times, and helped Roma to reach the European Cup final in 1984. From 1987 until 1992, he played for Milan, and was part of the squad that won consecutive European Cups in 1989 and 1990. During this time, Milan played with one of their finest teams ever assembled in that decade, with Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Mauro Tassotti, and Alessandro Costacurta as defenders; Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit, and Roberto Donadoni as midfielders; and Marco van Basten upfront. His finest moment with Milan was when he received a pass from Ruud Gullit, dribbled around two Real Madrid players, and netted a powerful long-range shot during the Rossoneri's 5–0 thrashing of Real in the 1989 European Cup semi-finals. He went on to play all 90 minutes in Milan's 4–0 dismantling of Steaua Bucureşti in the final.

International career[link]

Ancelotti made his Italian national team debut and scored his first and only goal on 6 January 1981 in a one-off tournament against the Netherlands, which ended in a 1–1 draw. He was very likely to be capped for the 1982 World Cup campaign, but a dramatic knee injury forced him away for several months. He also went on to appear in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, along with Roberto Donadoni, Roberto Mancini, and Paolo Maldini. Ancelotti made a total of 26 performances, scoring one goal for Italy before he announced his retirement from international football in 1991.

Managerial career[link]

Early years[link]

A student at Coverciano, where he penned a research article entitled "Il Futuro del Calcio: Più Dinamicità"^[2] (English: The Future of Football: More Dynamic) Ancelotti began his managerial career with Reggiana in 1995, where Reggiana achieved promotion to Serie A. He left the following year, however, for Parma. In 1996, Ancelotti was appointed manager of Parma, which included future Italy stars Gianluigi Buffon and Fabio Cannavaro. Parma finished second in the 1996–97 season, which guaranteed them a Champions League place. The following season, Ancelotti guided them to a fifth place, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. In 1999, he was appointed Juventus manager, where he both succeeded and preceded Marcello Lippi, who returned to the club when Ancelotti left. Ancelotti's season began promisingly, winning the Intertoto Cup by beating Rennes 4–2 on aggregate. The following season, however, he went trophyless, finishing runner-up twice in the Serie A.

Milan[link]

Ancelotti was appointed Milan manager in 2001, after Fatih Terim was sacked due to poor results. He was inheriting another recently trophyless team in Milan, as the Rossoneri had floundered domestically and in Europe since their last Scudetto victory in 1999. In his first full season, Ancelotti soon had Milan back in European competition, leading them to the semi-finals of the 2001–02 UEFA Cup. The following season, Ancelotti, who was heavily criticized by club owner Silvio Berlusconi due to his defensive tactics, was able to adopt a creative play in Milan while making several roster changes. He made Dida, still maligned for his 2000–01 Champions League howler against Leeds United, his new starting goalkeeper barely a month into the 2002–03 season, while converting budding attacking midfielder Andrea Pirlo to a defensive playmaker and playing him behind Rui Costa. At the same time, Filippo Inzaghi and Andriy Shevchenko were dominant and dynamic. Milan won the 2003 Champions League, beating Juventus 3–2 on penalties at Old Trafford and the Coppa Italia and took home the Scudetto in 2004. Under Ancelotti's reign, Milan were also back-to-back Serie A runners-up to Juventus in 2004–05 and 2005–06 "(both Scudetti were later wiped from the record books due to Juventus involvement in the Calciopoli scandal)" and lost the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final to Liverpool, losing 3–2 on penalties after leading 3–0 at halftime. Two years later, though, Milan avenged their defeat to Liverpool with a 2–1 win at the Olympic Stadium in Athens in 2007, leading to Ancelotti's second Champions League trophy as Milan coach and his fourth title overall, having also won it twice as a Milan player in 1989 and 1990. He also won the FIFA Club World Cup that year, the first manager to do so with a European club. Ancelotti announced his resignation from Milan less than an hour following their 2–0 victory over Fiorentina on 31 May 2009, after the club terminated his contract by mutual consent with one year remaining.

Chelsea[link]

2009–10[link]

On 1 June 2009, Ancelotti, succeeding temporary replacement Guus Hiddink, was confirmed as the new Chelsea manager after agreeing to a three-year contract, and formally assumed his duties on 1 July.^[3] His salary at Chelsea was initially reported to be more than £5 million per year.^[4] Ancelotti became the club's fourth permanent manager in 21 months, following José Mourinho, Avram Grant, and Luiz Felipe Scolari. He was also the third Italian to manage Chelsea, after Gianluca Vialli and Claudio Ranieri. On 9 August 2009, Ancelotti won his first trophy as Chelsea manager, the Community Shield, beating Manchester United on penalties, following a 2–2 draw. His first Premier League game in charge of the Blues ended in a 2–1 home victory over Hull City on 15 August 2009. Chelsea lost their first game under Ancelotti at the DW Stadium against Wigan Athletic on 26 September, losing 3–1. They were eliminated from the League Cup on 2 December, reaching the quarter-finals stage after a penalty shootout defeat to Blackburn Rovers after a 3–3 draw at Ewood Park. Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League on 16 March 2010 after a 3–1 aggregate loss to Internazionale, having lost both home and away, in the Round of 16 stage. On 9 May 2010, Ancelotti led Chelsea to win the Premier League title, beating Manchester United by one point and setting scoring records. The team finished the campaign with 103 goals, becoming the first team to score more than 100 goals in the top flight of English football since Tottenham Hotspur in the 1962–63 First Division season (Tottenham finished second).^[5] Chelsea secured the title with a 8–0 victory over Wigan Athletic at Stamford Bridge.^[6] Ancelotti also became the first Italian manager to win the Premier League^[7] and only the fifth manager overall in the league's 18 seasons. On 15 May 2010, Ancelotti led Chelsea to win the 2009–10 FA Cup, beating Portsmouth 1–0 in the final at Wembley, which marked the third time Chelsea had won the FA Cup in four years, equaling a record set by Arsenal between 2002 and 2005. The Cup win secured Chelsea's first ever domestic double.

2010–11[link]

The following season, after having lost to Manchester United in the Community Shield in August, Ancelotti led Chelsea to the top of the table on the first weekend of the season thanks to a 6–0 rout of newly-promoted West Bromwich Albion. Chelsea a followed this result with another 6–0 win, this time over Wigan, whilst Stoke City were beaten 2–0 there after. Chelsea had a good start to the season, winning the first five matches. His success was easily forgotten, however, as he failed a second time in the English League Cup, losing 4–3 to Newcastle United on 23 September 2010. He then went on to lose against Manchester City in the Premier League on a 1–0 loss due to a cleverly taken strike by City captain Carlos Tévez. He made a good start in Europe by beating Marseille and Žilina 2–0 and 4–1, respectively, in the Champions League. After a disappointment at the City of Manchester Stadium, Chelsea defeated fourth-placed Arsenal 2–0 due to a goal from Didier Drogba and a free-kick by defender Alex. His next defeat of the season came against Liverpool at Anfield, where they lost 2–0 with both goals coming from Fernando Torres. Chelsea would later go to sign the striker in January. A week later, Chelsea suffered their second Premier League defeat in three matches with a remarkable 3–0 home defeat to Sunderland. They then lost to Arsenal 3–1 at the Emirates Stadium.

On 5 January 2011, Chelsea suffered a shock 1–0 defeat at struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers, leaving them fifth in the League and in real danger of missing out on a Champions League place for the first time since 2002. This result led to Ancelotti ruling out Chelsea's chances of retaining the title, insisting that he did not fear that he would be sacked.^[8] After 15 January, however, Chelsea's form began to turn with a 2–0 home victory against Blackburn Rovers followed by emphatic away wins against Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland, putting them in fourth position, still 10 points behind leaders Manchester United. On 31 January, Chelsea signed Liverpool striker Fernando Torres for a British record £50 million and Benfica defender David Luiz for £22 million. Chelsea lost 1–0 to Liverpool at Stamford Bridge but beat league leaders Manchester United on 1 March in a 2–1 comeback that saw David Luiz net his first Chelsea goal, which was followed by a 3–1 win away to Blackpool. Chelsea were later defeated by Manchester United at home and away (aggregate of 1–3) in the Champions League quarter-finals. Following their defeat in Champions League, Ancelotti shifted his entire focus on the Premier League. Chelsea made a remarkable comeback, defeating Wigan 1–0 at home, West Bromwich Albion 3–1 away, Birmingham City 3–1, West Ham United 3–0 and Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 at home. Chelsea, who were fifth and 15 points behind leaders United, vaulted into the second position the league, just three points behind them. On 8 May, however, Chelsea lost to Manchester United 2–1 at Old Trafford to stay second in the league, now six points behind them with just two more games to play. He was sacked less than two hours after a 1–0 defeat at Everton on 22 May.^[9][10] He was earning £6.5 million per year at Chelsea just before his departure from the club. ^[11] He reportedly received a severance payment of £6 million from Chelsea.^[12]

Paris Saint-Germain[link]

On 30 December 2011, with Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the Ligue 1 standings in France, Ancelotti was appointed as the new manager of the club on the same day as their previous manager, Antoine Kombouaré, was released from his contract. His salary at Paris Saint-Germain was reported to be €6 million per year.^[12] On 21 March 2012, Ancelotti experienced his first defeat in charge of Paris Saint-Germain in all competitions as the club fell to a 3–1 defeat at the hands of Olympique Lyonnais in a Coupe de France quarter-final match.^[13] 10 days later, Paris Saint-Germain suffered their first league defeat under Ancelotti when they lost 2-1 away to Nancy.^[14] Paris Saint-Germain ended up as runners-up in Ligue 1 in Ancelotti's first season in charge.

Honours[link]

Player honours[link]

Roma

• Serie A: 1982-83
• Coppa Italia: 1980, 1981, 1984, 1986

Milan

• Serie A: 1987-88, 1991-92
• Supercoppa Italiana: 1988
• European Cup: 1988-89, 1989-90
• UEFA Super Cup: 1989, 1990
• Intercontinental Cup: 1989, 1990

Managerial honours[link]

Juventus

• Intertoto Cup: 1999

Milan

• Serie A: 2003-04
• Coppa Italia: 2002-03
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2004
• UEFA Champions League: 2002-03, 2006-07
• UEFA Super Cup: 2003, 2007
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2007

Chelsea

• Premier League: 2009-10
• FA Cup: 2009-10
• Community Shield: 2009

Awards and achievements[link]

• Serie A coach of the Year: 2001, 2004
• Albo Panchina d'Oro: 2002–03, 2003–04
• UEFA Manager of the Year: 2002–03
• World Soccer Magazine Manager of the Year: 2003
• The World's best Club Coach: 2007
• Premier League Manager of the Month: November 2009, August 2010, March 2011, April 2011^[15]

Statistics[link]

Player[link]

^[16]

International[link]

^[17]

International goals[link]

^[18]

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	6 January 1981	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Netherlands	1–0	1–1	1980 Mundialito

Managerial statistics[link]

As of 20 May 2012^[19][20]

Team	Nation	From	To	Record
G	W	D	L	Win %
Reggiana		1 August 1995	31 May 1996	&1000000000000003800000038	&1000000000000001600000016	&1000000000000001300000013	&100000000000000090000009	&1000000000000004210999942.11
Parma		1 August 1996	31 May 1998	&10000000000000102000000102	&1000000000000004800000048	&1000000000000003100000031	&1000000000000002300000023	&1000000000000004706000047.06
Juventus		1 August 1999	31 May 2001	&10000000000000114000000114	&1000000000000006300000063	&1000000000000001800000018	&1000000000000003300000033	&1000000000000005525999955.26
Milan		6 November 2001	31 May 2009	&10000000000000413000000413	&10000000000000234000000234	&10000000000000100000000100	&1000000000000007900000079	&1000000000000005665999956.66
Chelsea		1 July 2009	22 May 2011	&10000000000000109000000109	&1000000000000006700000067	&1000000000000002000000020	&1000000000000002200000022	&1000000000000006146999961.47
PSG		30 December 2011	present	&1000000000000002400000024	&1000000000000001400000014	&100000000000000060000006	&100000000000000040000004	&1000000000000005832999958.33
Total				&10000000000000800000000800	&10000000000000442000000442	&10000000000000188000000188	&10000000000000170000000170	&1000000000000005525000055.25

Personal life[link]

Ancelotti has two children: a daughter, Katia, and a son, Davide, who also played in the Milan youth team and later joined Borgomanero in June 2008.^[21] In 2008, Carlo Ancelotti confirmed in an interview that he had broken up with his wife of 25 years.^[21] In May 2009, Ancelotti's autobiography, Preferisco la Coppa ("I Prefer the Cup", with a word-play by Ancelotti on the Italian word "coppa" that stands both for "cup" and a type of cured cold pork meat cut), was published, with all proceeds from sales of the book going to the Fondazione Stefano Borgonovo for the funding of research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.^[22] Recently, Ancelotti has had to travel back to Italy on a regular basis to visit his 87-year-old father who was in poor health with diabetes and other issues. On the issue, he said, "I don't have a problem managing the team for this reason. It's difficult, emotionally, when it's your father... but this is life. I have to do my best to stay close to him, but this is the life."^[23]

Notes[link]

1. ^ Includes Supercoppa Italiana
2. ^ Includes European Cup, Intercontinental Cup

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Carlo Ancelotti

• Profile at Soccerbase
• Carlo Ancelotti at National-Football-Teams.com