Davide Ancelotti used the eve of Lille's Champions League league-phase opener against Real Betis to single out Manuel Pellegrini, calling him one of the game's most respected coaches and saying his own generation has immense admiration for him. With Tuesday's meeting approaching, Ancelotti made clear that this match is also about a personal milestone: his first time in charge in Europe's top club competition, and a chance to begin writing his own chapter under his own name.
The timing gives the fixture extra weight. Betis are back in the Champions League for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign, while Lille arrive with something more than momentum: they have won their last three matches in the competition against Spanish opposition. That makes Losc Vs Betis more than a return fixture for the Spanish side. It is a test of whether Lille can keep that run going against a team Ancelotti described as organised, hard to face and strong at the back.
Ancelotti's praise for Pellegrini was also pointed. He said the Betis coach does not always get the recognition he deserves, despite an incredible career and huge success, and noted that Pellegrini has become the first manager in history to take charge of four different Spanish clubs in the Champions League. For a young coach trying to build a name in the same competition, the message was clear: respect the benchmark, but do not shrink from it.
That is where the match sharpens. Betis are returning after a 21-year absence and, even with that gap, are being talked about as a disciplined side that rarely gives much away, aside from the match at Levante. Lille will have to find a way through that structure while also keeping an eye on Olivier Giroud, who is poised to make his first appearance in the Champions League for a club from his homeland, and on Isco, who is expected to carry much of the burden for Betis on opening night.
By the time the teams meet on Tuesday, the story will no longer be the praise speech. It will be whether Ancelotti's new beginning can survive the old standard Pellegrini set, and whether Lille can turn a promising run against Spanish opposition into the kind of start that changes a campaign.
