Carlo Ancelotti's secret weapon – his son, Davide

Formerly a footballer, Davide knew from a young age that he wanted to become a coach like his father. He understood tactics and would have a say in how to organize a team even when he was young.

A naturally curious boy, if he was interested in something, he wanted to know everything. As the son of one of Italy's greatest tacticians, Davide was determined to give his best.

A graduate in sports sciences, he joined his father's team at Paris St-Germain. At Bayern Munich, he became his father's assistant coach. As he often says, his primary role is to offer his father a different tactical perspective. At Real Madrid, his value to the team became more important.

Davide wants to learn everything there is to know about the game. He watches countless matches across Europe, studies opponents and reflects on the data collected on his own players. He supervises training, takes charge of set sequences and designs certain play schemes.

However, its true value lies in its ability to observe specific moments in a match and quickly decide the path to victory.

Take the first league match of the 2022-23 season. Real Madrid had conceded an early goal to Almeria. It took them until the 61st minute to equalize, but they needed a winner.

Luka Modric won a free-kick and Davide was seen giving detailed instructions to new substitute David Alaba on the sidelines. Toni Kroos and Karim Benzema stood over the ball, waiting to unleash the free kick. Davide intervened. Speaking to his father, Davide explained why Alaba had to come in straight away and take the free kick.

The set piece was on the right. He was in the perfect position for one of Alaba's sweet left-footed strikes. The defender scored. Victory was assured.

Davide, who speaks five languages, maintains good individual relationships with Real players. He can still be seen giving them instructions. He works with them after hours to develop their game.

As an example, take Karim Benzema's defensive positioning in corners. This is something the French striker has worked on with Davide, to improve his defensive contribution, reduce the number of goals conceded from set pieces.

Aurélien Tchouameni spent a lot of time after regular training working with Davide to better understand how to receive the ball, how to turn his body and how to adapt his posture, allowing him to play in multiple positions. This has proven particularly useful as Madrid have lost several central defenders to injuries this season.