Last week, while Real Madrid were preparing for their Copa del Rey semi-final second leg at Barcelona, a newspaper report sent shockwaves through the club's Valdebebas training ground.
A story published in Marca claimed Madrid assistant coach Davide Ancelotti, Carlo's son and right-hand man, was very close to leaving to become the manager at Swiss side Basel.
When The Athletic contacted sources at Madrid at the time, no one knew anything about it. A previous newspaper report in AS had touted Alvaro Arbeloa, coach of the club's under-19 'Juvenil A' team, as Davide Ancelotti's replacement. Nobody at the academy's board of directors knew anything about that, either. Arbeloa himself, in conversations around the club's offices, was telling people he didn't want to be an assistant coach to anyone.
While all this was going on, Ancelotti was helping run first-team training. When the session ended and he picked up his phone back in the dressing room, he was surprised to find a large number of messages congratulating him. But nothing about the Basel story was true.
Later that day, a source from the coaching staff got in touch with The Athletic, to deny that he was leaving: “It's not true. We don't want to be destabilised at such an important time,” they said, speaking anonymously to protect their position.
Another denial came from senior club sources: “No, Davide is not leaving.”
According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Ancelotti's priority, like his father's, is to continue at Real Madrid. If the club counts on Carlo, Davide's plan is to stay too, with both under contract until next year. Only an irresistible proposal from the Premier League, where Davide wants to coach someday, would change his mind. But no such offer is expected at this point.
If, as has been much discussed, Real Madrid do decide to part ways with Carlo Ancelotti, the Italian will have an offer from the Brazil national team, who have made their interest plain, and he would very likely accept it.
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But Carlo's son would not go with him. Davide, already blessed with experience from roles in Spain, France, Germany, Italy and England, is attracted by the prospect of starting his own path in management.
And everything we know about the 33-year-old so far suggests that path will be an interesting one to follow.
Growing up as the son of an AC Milan legend, football was never far away for Ancelotti. Davide was only two years old when Carlo retired from playing for the Rossoneri, but he was 12 when his father returned to the club as manager, and almost 18 when he won the Champions League for a second time.
That year, 2007, Davide joined the AC Milan youth ranks. He was a midfielder, like his father, but never made it to the senior team. He did, however, show an early academic interest in the game.
After a brief spell in Italy's fourth tier, he decided to hang up his boots. He felt he would not make it as a professional footballer, and realised all the time he spent training could be spent studying instead.
Ancelotti soon became a sports science graduate with a dissertation on motor sciences. That earned him the opportunity to work with his father during his time in charge at Paris Saint-Germain, from 2011 to 2013, as a physical trainer in the French club's youth academy.
When Ancelotti senior left to take up the manager's role at Real Madrid in 2013, Davide followed, this time as part of the team in charge of physical preparation for the senior squad.
The next step was to be promoted again, at Bayern Munich, where he worked as his father's assistant coach over the 2016-17 campaign. In Germany, he progressed a lot, and players say he gained their trust both on and off the pitch.
Ancelotti kept that position when following his father to roles at Napoli (2018-19) and Everton, becoming the youngest assistant in Premier League history when arriving at Goodison Park in 2019, aged 30.
When the Ancelottis returned to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2021, there were doubts, from outside and inside the club, about whether Davide would be up to the task. It was rumoured that Madrid would insist on Carlo employing a different assistant, which did not happen.
The rumours never troubled Carlo or his son, and both were confident that the latter met Madrid's standards. Accusations of nepotism have followed Davide's career path, but those who have seen his work up close are in no doubt of his quality. At Everton, he made a strong impression. At Madrid, it is no different.
Ancelotti is highly valued at all levels of the club, but especially by the players, with whom he has built very close relationships. His approachability and communication skills are aided by his ability to speak Italian, French, Spanish, English and German (Bayern even bragged about this on social media when he was working there). Like his father, he believes adaptability is crucial and, as a coach, wants to avoid being associated with a particular style of play.
“He is top, he has a high level and it is interesting to work with him,” one first-team player told The Athletic.
“He talks a lot with us, he is very active. We respect him a lot.”
“As he is younger, he is the one who talks more with us and more in a joking tone, creating a very good atmosphere. He's from the new generation, like some of us,” says another.
Davide and Carlo Ancelotti on the Real Madrid touchline in October (Photo: Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
It is very common to see Davide at Carlo's side during matches, with the two often making decisions together. He also calls the shots during training sessions. Sometimes, in fact, it is difficult to know which is the first coach and which is the second. Insiders say they do not usually perceive a father-son relationship and that Davide often contradicts Carlo, who knows how to listen to him.
“He has a good role model,” says a member of the first-team staff.
“From there he has been evolving and he has his own ideas, which he always shares with Carlo. It's true they don't look like father and son. They argue a lot, in a good way.
“Davide is the one who leads organisation, setting goals. He likes to be involved in both individual and group training specific to each area of the pitch, although he doesn't have time for everything because of the team's busy routine.
“Tactically, he is very strong and he will continue to grow. He watches a lot of football and interprets the game very well. He knows how to detect important aspects and to take variants from there. And he has learned at many clubs, which is key for egos.”
There are several anecdotes about Davide's impact that are much talked about in Valdebebas. One incident came in December 2021, just a few months into the Ancelottis' second spell in the Madrid dugout.
Before kick-off in a home La Liga meeting with city rivals Atletico Madrid, Davide approached Karim Benzema during the warm-up to highlight how Diego Simeone's defence tended to drop deep in their box. He advised him to hang back a little when they did so.
Sixteen minutes into the game, with the Atletico back line set deep in their own area, Vinicius Junior picked out Benzema with a cross. Unmarked, having held his run, the Frenchman hit a volley from the edge of the box to score the opening goal.
Another example of Ancelotti's influence comes from the first game of this season, away at Almeria. Madrid had gone behind before equalising in the 61st minute, but they couldn't find the winning goal.
When a free kick was given on the edge of the box, Ancelotti, who has responsibility for set pieces, urged his father to accelerate David Alaba's substitution, with the Austrian preparing to come on. Alaba entered the pitch and swept the ball in off the post with his first touch as Madrid won 2-1.
A further detail about set pieces: Ancelotti wears an earpiece through which he communicates with another member of the coaching staff sitting in the stands, to help know the exact position of the ball and how to organise the defence's position in response. Davide has modernised Carlo, among other ways, by introducing greater use of technology.
Davide Ancelotti pictured taking Real Madrid training in Morocco during the Club World Cup (Photo: David Ramos – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Now, he is also close to completing an important next step on his managerial journey: obtaining a UEFA Pro coaching licence. This is the qualification required across Europe to take permanent charge of a first-tier football team.
Without it, Ancelotti could technically not coach the team when his father tested positive for COVID-19 last season. Davide was the de facto manager during Carlo's absence, but Madrid listed Abian Perdomo, one of the people in charge at the club's academy, in the official records.
Davide achieved the UEFA B licence with a score of 137 out of 140, then he gained the UEFA A licence as the best of his class with 13 points from a possible 15. In May, he finishes the UEFA Pro training before the exam in June.
He chose to take a course run by the Football Association of Wales (FAW) because entry requirements (an interview and an exam) were simpler and regular attendance was not mandatory, although he has travelled for some sessions. He could also have taken it in Germany, but a more regular presence was required. He sent his CV to Italy but did not meet the criteria because, like in Spain, they heavily favoured former professionals.
Mikel Arteta, among others, also obtained his licence via the FAW. There, Ancelotti has studied alongside colleagues working in England's Championship and League One, as well as an assistant to Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and one of Niko Kovac's coaches at Wolfsburg.
He is happy and committed at Madrid — “he can spend 10 to 12 hours a day here,” says a club source — and he wants to stay, like his father.
The next few weeks will be crucial for the future of both coaches. Right now, uncertainty remains about where they will be next season, even despite another impressive result on Wednesday night, in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final with Chelsea.
That kind of experience should serve him well, wherever he ends up.
Livingstone4u
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I'm impressed