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REAL MADRID

Who is Davide Ancelotti, Carlo Ancelotti's son and assistant?

Carlo Ancelotti has tested positive for covid-19 and his son Davide, a regular member of his staff, is expected to take charge of the side for Celta game.

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Davide Ancelotti, así es el hijo y ayudante técnico de Carlo
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Real Madrid confirmed on Wednesday that Carlo Ancelotti has tested positive for covid-19, meaning the Italian tactician is unlikely to be able to travel to Vigo this weekend for the Liga match against Celta at Balaídos. When the former Milan, PSG, Chelsea Juventus, Bayern Munich, Napoli and Everton manager returned to the Bernabéu for his second stint in charge of the club last summer he brought with him Antonio Pintus - the fitness coach who shot to fame for his gruelling training sessions under Zinedine Zidane and who was a key element of the double success in 2016-17 - as well as many of his regular coaching staff among which one of the names that stands out is that of Davide, Ancelotti’s son and Madrid's assistant coach, who is likely to be on the touchline in Balaídos in the event that Ancelotti is prevented from travelling.

Assuming Ancelotti Jr will be in charge of the side when they face Celta, he will have the shadow of the 4-0 Clásico humbling against Barcelona hanging over him in Balaídos, a defeat for which Ancelotti shouldered the blame.

Davide Ancelotti top of his class

Davide Ancelotti was born on 22 July in Parma and grew up surrounded by football stars, although he was always by his own admission a shy child. At the age of 22 he gained a degree in sports science. “Everybody wants to be a footballer but I quickly realized I didn’t have any talent for it so I decided to study,” he said in an interview in the Daily Mail.

As reported by The Athletic in a thorough piece on the younger Ancelotti, his university thesis on motor science in football players won plaudits and he gained high marks in his coaching courses – 137/140 in his UEFA B examination and 13/15 for his UEFA A licence.

Ancelotti Jr started his career as a fitness coach, spending a year at PSG in 2012 and then working in the same capacity under his father at Real Madrid. Ancelotti Sr’s move to Bayern Munich opened up another door for Davide, who became an assistant coach at the Bavarian giants and continued in the same role when Ancelotti took over at Napoli in 2018.

It was at the Serie A side that Davide made his debut as a first team coach. Ancelotti had been sent off during a game against Atalanta and was banned for a match against Roma. Davide stepped in and coached the side as well as attending to media duties after the game. Speaking about the generational substitute, then-sporting director Cristiano Guintoli said of Ancelotti Jr before the match: “We will miss Ancelotti, but his son Davide will be on the bench. He is a very well-prepared professional and he is a failsafe for us.”

Those who have worked with Davide describe an honest, intelligent person with a human touch, much like his father. However, some players at Bayern accused him of being too close and he would often go out for dinner with members of the team, leading some to complain that was more interested in friendships than maintaining a professional relationship with the squad.

Davide y Carlo Ancelotti en su etapa en el Nápoles
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Davide y Carlo Ancelotti en su etapa en el NápolesFRANCESO PECORAROGETTY IMAGES

Everton training methods and the Ancelotti coaching team

In an interview with the Liverpool Echo last November, Ancelotti Jr said of his working relationship with his father: “My goal is to give him a lot of doubts, to give my opinion. At the end he is the one that makes the decision. I am not here to say, 'yes, yes, yes,' I am here as every assistant coach, I have the confidence - me more than others - to say, 'no, I disagree with you’.”

In his second spell at Real Madrid, Ancelotti discontinued his habitual appointment of a former player as an assistant coach after working with Claude Makelélé at PSG, Zidane at Real Madrid, Hasan Salihamidzic at Bayern and Duncan Ferguson at Everton.

On Saturday in Balaídos, Ancelotti's son will again step into the limelight in place of his father as Madrid seek to put the Clásico defeat behind them and maintain their nine-point lead over Sevilla at the top of LaLiga.