Davide Ancelotti: Carlo's son & his Real No 2, plotting to beat L'pool

When Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was asked about Carlo Ancelotti ahead of Saturday night's Champions League final, it was significant he namechecked the manager's son.

'Carlo had a very good staff around him. His son Davide and a really good team,' said the England goalkeeper who played under Ancelotti and Ancelotti Jr for 18 months before they decamped Goodison Park for Real Madrid last summer.

Nepotism has never been an accusation as far as 32-year-old Davide who has already shown he's a great operator in his own right besides being the offspring of one of the world's great managers.

As a source at Goodison put it: 'Carlo is a wily old fox. He wasn't going to throw his son at the players unless he really knew he could do the job.'

It is now Real Madrid reaping the benefits. They have just won LaLiga and victory over Liverpool this weekend will make Ancelotti Sr the first manager ever to win four European Cups.

Instead of exploiting the family name, there is a strong case that Davide is helping his sixty-something father stay relevant and successful in the modern game, introducing the elements of sports science and data analysis you need at the elite level.

One day Davide is destined to be in the hotseat himself but for now, working alongside Don Carlo is a huge plus on his C.V.

'I want to be a manager one day and he is the best example I can have,' he says. 'I am really lucky to be his son, it is the best thing in the world if you want to be a manager.'

Davide had a brief taste of it in April when his Dad got Covid leaving him in charge of a LaLiga game away to Celta Vigo. Real won 2-1 with a brace of goals from Karim Benzema.

Football was in Davide's genes from the very start. He was born in July 1989, just a