Davide Ancelotti (born 22 July 1989) is an Italian former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who serves as assistant manager of

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

Early life

Born in

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

, Italy to legendary football coach Carlo Ancelotti and Luisa Gibellini, Davide followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a professional footballer with AC Milan, playing as a midfielder. Following a loan spell and subsequent permanent transfer to Borgomanero, Ancelotti retired as a player in 2009 to pursue a career in management. At the age of 22, he gained a degree in sports science.

Managerial career

Ancelotti's first foray into football coaching came in 2012, when he was appointed as a fitness coach at French side Paris Saint-Germain, where his father was manager. After Ancelotti Sr. moved to Spain to manage

, Davide followed, working as an assistant to the club's fitness coach. Having received his

UEFA A licence UEFA, the governing body for football in Europe, mandates several coaching licences for professional managers, each valid for coaching at a certain level. These include the UEFA Pro Licence, the UEFA A Licence, and the UEFA B Licence. They are is ...

in 2016, notably finishing top of his class, he took up the position of assistant manager to Carlo at German side

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

. At Bayern, he struck up a friendship with Spanish international

Thiago Alcântara Thiago Alcântara do Nascimento ( es, Alcántara; born 11 April 1991), or simply Thiago (; ), is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and the Spain national team. Born in Italy to Brazi ...

, and reportedly angered some of the squad with this familiarity, as opposed to a more professional working dynamic, having gone out with a group of players to dinner on a number of occasions. When Carlo Ancelotti took up the managerial role at Italian club Napoli in 2018, Davide again served as his assistant, and after Ancelotti Sr. was suspended for an away game against

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

, Davide made his managerial debut, stepping in for his father and overseeing a 2–1 loss in November 2019. In December 2019, Ancelotti moved to England to serve as assistant to his father at Everton. Working alongside fellow assistant

Duncan Ferguson Duncan Cowan Ferguson (born 27 December 1971) is a Scottish former professional footballer. Ferguson was the caretaker manager of Everton in 2019 and 2022. He began his career at Dundee United in 1990, and moved to Rangers in 1993 for what was ...

, the two would take charge of training sessions. Having followed his father to Spain to work under him at

, it was rumoured that Davide would lead the team against Celta Vigo in April 2022, following Carlo's

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

diagnosis. However, as Davide lacked a UEFA Pro licence at the time, he was unable to give the team instructions, despite being allowed to stand on the touchline. He successfully attained a UEFA Pro Licence in July 2023, after graduating from a specific coaching course in Wales. In May 2024, he was described as his father's "secret weapon" at Real Madrid.

Managerial style

Seen as a modern, advanced coach, Ancelotti shares his father's calm, relaxed approach to management. Having worked as a fitness coach, he would often lead pre-match warmups, as he did at Everton with head of conditioning Francesco Mauri. Working closely with his father, notably never referring to him as "dad", the pair would often bounce ideas off each other, with Davide not taking a back seat, leading to a level of interdependency developing between the two.

Personal life

Ancelotti speaks Italian, French, Spanish, German and English. In June 2022, he married artist Ana Galocha. The pair have two sons, twins Lucas and Leonardo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ancelotti, Davide 1989 births Living people Footballers from Parma Italian men's footballers Italian football managers Men's association football midfielders AC Milan players Italian expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate football managers in France Italian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate football managers in Germany Italian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate football managers in England Italian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate football managers in Spain