It is not uncommon for fathers and sons to work alongside one another but it is fairly rare in elite sports. Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti, has relied on the services of his son, Davide, for most of the past decade as he travelled around Europe managing great teams to success.
Davide joined Everton when his father was appointed manager in December last year and is part of the backroom staff that Carlo affords plenty of responsibility. Davide has shown “strong character” and an “unrelenting appetite to learn” to earn the job of assisting his father.
“He is a really young assistant manager but he has had fantastic experience, training the best players,” Carlo told the club’s website. “The key factor for Davide is he always wants to learn - he studied, studied and studied. He was watching all the games and he is not one who will stop wanting to learn and improve.”
Davide has been with his father around Europe
To some, having son work as an assistant to father may seem like nepotism, but Carlo insists that Davide is in his position due to hard work and on merit: “He started to know when he was younger that his surname is really heavy on him. I’m really happy [with his progress] because he has had a lot of pressure in his job. He tried to make it as a player but he understood he was not quite good enough and after that he turned and tried to study.
“And so, to keep the surname less heavy, he has to show to the others that he is good. And he is good.”
Davide began his professional coaching career as a fitness coach at Paris Saint-Germain, having earned a degree in sports science. He then moved with Carlo to Real Madrid where he held a similar position. During his time in Spain, he achieved his Uefa coaching badges and excelled during the courses. When Carlo took the managers role at Bayern Munich, Davide became assistant manager, a role which he also held alongside his father at Napoli.
Carlo insists that the fact that his son has quickly earned the respect of each group of players he has worked with is testament to his work ethic and breadth of qualities as a coach. Davide is a trusted part of a backroom staff at Everton with the task of ensuring that the club move in the right direction in the coming season. This summer break is shorter than normal but Carlo has no problem in delegating tasks to his assistant and fellow coaches, including Duncan Ferguson, and empowering them with responsibilities.
“I like to give my staff responsibility because the more involved they are the better their work will be,” Carlo said. “The staff are very involved and it is important the players understand their roles, that could be physical trainers, or the Assistant Managers, Davide and Duncan.
“They have to respect this. I think the atmosphere at the training ground is really good in this aspect, because we have a lot of respect for our players and they show us the same respect.”