Here we look at the careers of Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti and Portsmouth boss Avram Grant as they prepare to lock horns in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday.
TROPHIES
Ancelotti's CV is undoubtedly one of the best in the game. An eight-year spell at AC Milan saw him collect one Serie A title, one Italian Super Cup, one Coppa Italia and most impressively two Champions League winners' medals. He won the Community Shield a month after his appointment as Chelsea boss and last weekend he added the Barclays Premier League trophy in his first season at Stamford Bridge and is now targeting the club's first domestic double. The Italian's winning pedigree saw him collect a host of domestic and European honours during his playing career at the San Siro too.
Grant failed to bring home any major silverware during his eight-month period at Stamford Bridge, mainly thanks to a Champions League final defeat on penalties to Manchester United in 2008. Before coming to England, the 55-year-old won back-to-back titles with Maccabi Haifa in his native Israel. He also had success with Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Petah Tikva.
STRENGTHS
Ancelotti has succeeded where Grant, and his successor Luiz Felipe Scolari, failed at Stamford Bridge by keeping the egos of his multi-millionaire stars in check. The Italian has developed a unity and manager-player relationship on a level that has not been seen since Jose Mourinho's time in west London.
Tactically astute, the 50-year-old has instilled a discipline within his squad similar to that adopted by Fabio Capello in the England camp.
Quite how Grant has steered Pompey to Wembley with the club's myriad off-field problems this season is incomprehensible. The south-coast club have been forced to sell some of their key players due to their dire financial state, forcing the likes of Marc Wilson, Aaron Mokoena and Hayden Mullins to spend most of the season playing out of position. Grant has developed a backs-to-the-wall team spirit that was most evident during their semi-final win over big-spending Tottenham. He has also got the best out of loanee Jamie O'Hara, who before this season looked unlikely to make it at the top level.
WEAKNESSES
Ancelotti's steadfast refusal to return to the 4-3-3 formation which predecessor Guus Hiddink installed last season cost Chelsea early points. While his big-game temperament cannot be questioned - the Blues' have a flawless record against their 'big four' rivals this term - this year's Champions League exit to Inter Milan will linger in the back of his mind. He has also failed to clear the doubts over Chelsea's inability to deal with set-pieces and their lack of ability to kill off tight games could come back to haunt him.
While Grant has done the best he can with meagre resources at Fratton Park, he has been unable to stop his defence conceding at a worrying rate this season.
Memories of Chelsea's Champions League defeat to Manchester United on penalties will also raise doubts over his ability to calm his players' nerves should Pompey require a shoot-out to beat their opponents.
