Carlo Ancelotti became the most decorated manager in UEFA Champions League history after winning his fifth title as Real Madrid ousted Borussia Dortmund in the final. However, it wasn’t all easy sailings for Los Blancos and the tensions forced the Italian gaffer to resort to his habit of chewing gums.
Over the years, the cameras have often found Ancelotti chewing gum ferociously during matches. This often appears to have a positive impact on his team, with his emotional expressions and eyebrow movement often triggering some amazing comeback or the other.
The 64-year-old manager was under pressure in the Champions League final and had to use something as a stress buster as Borussia Dortmund piled the pressure in the first half.
At one moment, the cameras managed to catch the manager in the process of downing a bunch of gum.
On a closer inspection, it’s clear that Ancelotti was consuming quite a large amount of ‘Smint’ peppermint gums just before the end of the first half.
Rather than taking out one at a time, he basically opened the cap and doused a bunch of mints into his mouth because of the sheer pressure of the situation.
Ancelotti has made it a habit of chewing gum or consuming candies during matches. ‘
Smint’ appears to be his new favorite brand, with the Italian-Dutch brand specializing in creating a variety of mint and chewing gums for their customers.
There is a large category of different candies that one can buy from Smint, but the Real Madrid gaffer appears to be a particular fan of the normal sugar-free variant. This one can be bought from Aliexpress for a price of just over £25 for a box of 12 cans.
Ancelotti, however, probably just got it from a local store in London ahead of the big game at Wembley. One can of Smint contains 50 pieces, with many fans worried that he might’ve consumed a large amount of those in one go against Dortmund.
But there’s a particular reason why Ancelotti keeps chugging down these mints or gums during matches.
For those unknowing, the Italian was actually an avid smoker during his younger years. In fact, he was often seen smoking in the dugout during matches too – especially during his time at AC Milan and Juventus.
However, Carlo realized the dangerous side effects of smoking and has replaced that with chewing gum during matches.
He actually revealed this in an interview a few years ago, saying: “I loved smoking a while ago but I quit, now I enjoy chewing gum a little excessively just until the match is over because I think it helps me.”
Normally, many smokers actually tend to revert to chewing gum or having candy to help them get rid of their addiction of consuming nicotine, the substance that makes smoking cigarettes so addictive.
Ancelotti has taken up his chewing gum habit for over a decade now and in 2015, he revealed to be consuming up to 14 chewing gums in every game as a way of containing the stress.
Ancelotti actually got the incentive to give up smoking when he was Chelsea manager from 2008-2010. That is because Stamford Bridge is a no-smoking zone, which would later force Maurizio Sarri to stop his smoking habits during games too.
Carlo admitted to be experiencing problems without being able to smoke as Chelsea manager back in 2009, stating: “I want to stop smoking but I have to try to find the right date. I think December 31 is a good date to stop – but I don’t know in which year. Seriously, it has been a little bit difficult, but if it is not possible I don’t smoke. And it’s to do with England, not only Chelsea, because you can’t smoke in restaurants here either. That’s the same in Italy now.”
To his credit, Ancelotti was able to give up his smoking habits after that and replace it with chewing gum. In the past, he has often been ferociously chewing a lot of gum and was seemingly a fan of the popular chewing gum brand ‘Mentos’, having been pictured gulping down Mentos gums.
In fact, Ancelotti is also fond of sharing his gum – having done so with an Athletic Bilbao fan after Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over them in January, 2023. Chewing gums serves as a stress buster for Ancelotti and also a way for him to keep his emotions in check.
The 64-year-old manager is hardly seen losing his wits on the touchline and like Sir Alex Ferguson, he likes chewing gum to help keep the tensions at bay. The Real Madrid gaffer ultimately saw his calm approach vindicated after Real Madrid won their 15th Champions League crown and also gave ‘Smint’ some free advertisement during the game.