Was Carlo Ancelotti Unfairly Fired By Real Madrid?

It's official. Carlo Ancelotti is out as head coach of Real Madrid.

The Italian mastermind who led Los Blancos to the Copa del Rey, Champions League, European Super Cup and Club World Cup trophies apparently did not live up to the high standards at the Santiago Bernabeu this season and was relieved of his duties.

Ancelotti found himself on the hot seat after a shocking upset to Juventus in the UEFA Champions League semifinal earlier this month. Four days earlier, a 2-2 draw with Valencia sealed their fate as second fiddle in La Liga, a result that became official after Barcelona won the La Liga title race on Saturday.

On Monday, the announcement was made by Madrid President Florentino Perez. "I want to tell you that we have decided to relieve Carlo Ancelotti of his duties as Real Madrid coach," Perez said in a statement. "It's been a very difficult decision for the board but as I always say, we haven't come to take the easy decisions but the best decisions for the institution."

Ancelotti took the decision in stride, sending out a professional and heartfelt goodbye to his team and the Madrid fans via Twitter. Nevertheless, it seems that the Madrid board has unfairly fired Ancelotti after two excellent seasons in charge.

Ancelotta brought the prized La Decima accolade to the club as they became the first team to win 10 UEFA Champions League titles last year. This season, he got Real Madrid off to an unbelievable start as the team won 22 consecutive games. But injuries took their toll, as James Rodriguez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema all missed time. Additionally, the deterioration of Gareth Bale did not help his cause, nor did suspensions to Pepe and injuries to Luka Modric and Toni Kroos help matters. Despite all that, Real Madrid made it to the Champions League semifinals and finished the season with 92 points, which in any other year would probably win the La Liga title. This year it was not enough however, as Barcelona's addition of Luis Suarez to the offensive attack was more impactful than Rodriguez was to Los Blancos. Pundits will say that Ancelotti was not tough enough on his players, and his style of play on the pitch that he was so successful with AC Milan was not suitable for rivals FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.

Rafa Benitiez is expected to become the 12^th head coach in the past 12 years for Real Madrid when the Napoli manager is announced later this week. He better hope that Gareth Bale plays out of this world or that Barcelona takes a step back or he might be the next in line on the coaching chopping block. Regardless, we believe that Real Madrid and Perez will regret this move to sack Ancelotti in the coming years.