Davide Ancelotti was six years old the first time he walked onto a training pitch at Parma. His father Carlo was the manager. The first player he remembers meeting was Gianluigi Buffon, who let the boy take shots against him. Lilian Thuram and Fabio Cannavaro were there too, still early in careers that would end in World Cup glory with France and Italy respectively.
That kind of immersion shaped a coach who is now 36, has served as assistant at Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid alongside his father, completed his first head coaching stint at Botafogo, and is preparing to join Brazil's backroom staff for this summer's World Cup.
In a wide-ranging interview with BBC Sport, conducted with a tactics board on the table between them, Davide spoke in detail about the coaches who shaped his thinking. He was careful not to flatten them into a single influence.
"In football, it is difficult to say that one manager inspires you," he said. "You take things from different managers. Pep Guardiola was cutting edge, a pioneer. You cannot forget Jurgen Klopp in the high pressing, in the triggers. If we speak about superiority, you have to mention Roberto de Zerbi in how to find the third man, the small details that he discovered. I am fascinated by the defensive phase of Diego Simeone, by Unai Emery and, of course, my father."
Carlo Ancelotti, a five-time Champions League winner as a manager, emerged from the Arrigo Sacchi school — zonal defence, the 4-4-2. Davide absorbed that too, but is deliberate about not being a carbon copy.
"For some people I am like my father, but in truth, I am not exactly like him," he said. "I have a similar character, but I am a different kind of manager. I don't think a manager has to be one thing or another. There is always a point in the middle. You adapt to the players, and sometimes to the opponent, but you also need clear ideas on what you like as a manager. In the end, the team will become what you emphasise and you emphasise the things you like."
When asked to describe his ideal team, Davide pointed to Paris St-Germain, the reigning Champions League winners, as the closest model to what he wants to build. He broke down their game in detail: the ability to find the spare man in the first phase of build-up, to shift between positional and free possession in advanced areas, to press man-to-man when needed, and to hold shape in a deep defensive block.
"What can you say about a team like this?" he said. "This is a team that can do different things at the highest level. That is my dream."
His experience at Botafogo gave him his first real test as the man in charge rather than the man beside the man in charge. He enters the World Cup cycle with Brazil having seen both sides of the dugout. The relationship with his father continues — professionally and personally — but Davide is building something of his own.
The World Cup begins in the United States, Canada, and Mexico this summer, and Brazil will be among the most watched sides. Davide will be on the bench as assistant, the same role he has held across four clubs. Whether a head coaching job at the international or club level follows will depend on what comes next. For now, he is still refining what kind of manager he is — and, by his own account, that process never really stops.
