How Carlo Ancelotti’s son became more than a ‘nepo-baby’ manager: Lille boss Davide recites Greek mythology, bonded with Duncan Ferguson and was caught in Neymar controversy – now, he is looking to spring a shock on Arsenal

DAILYMAIL.COM • 9h ago

By ALEX JENNINGS, SPORTS DIGITAL PRODUCTION EDITOR 09:04 13 Oct 2026, updated 09:04 13 Oct 2026

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree at casa Ancelotti.

Talk to people in football about Davide, son of Carlo, and their responses might as well be about his dad. Amiable. Unflappable. Intelligent. Tactically flexible. Good man-manager. Tale padre, tale figlio, as they say in Milan. Like father, like son.

Where Davide diverges from Carlo is a lack of experience — more specifically the absence of a trophy cabinet full to the point of bursting.

While Carlo has won the European Cup seven times as a player and manager, the younger Ancelotti will be managing in just his second game in the competition at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night. Work to do, too, after his Champions League debut saw his Lille side twice blow a lead at home to Real Betis.

Another point of difference: Davide’s love of all things Ancient Greece. Davide is a prodigious reader of Greek mythology and unafraid to reference tales of Theseus and Odysseus in team talks delivered to what you suspect are a few dozen blank faces in the Lille dressing room.

Asked recently which mythological character he would compare himself to, Ancelotti’s answer was revealing. Heracles would have made sense — a son of Zeus who forges a fearsome reputation of his own — but he opted for Prometheus, a Titan who stole fire from the Gods to gift to humanity.

‘I identify with his human side,’ said Davide. ‘He helped humanity a lot after creation. He stole from the Gods and always stayed on humanity’s side. I also believe strongly in human relationships, so I choose him.’

On Tuesday, stealing three points from Mikel Arteta would suffice.

So what can Arsenal fans expect from the ‘nepo baby’ taking his first few steps out of his father’s shadow?

Well, first and foremost, a difficult evening. Lille are second in Ligue 1, just one point off the top and three points ahead of reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain. Ancelotti held PSG to a draw in his second game in charge, two goals in stoppage time denying his side a famous win.

‘We are playing direct football this season,’ Lille supporter and host of the Simplement Dogues podcast Dimitri Favorinus told Daily Mail Sport. ‘It’s very, very modern and a big difference to our previous managers’ style of play.

‘Under them, Lille were a possession-based team, we wanted to have the ball and took our time building attacks. Davide’s team is more pragmatic, more adaptable. When there is a direct solution, the team will take it.’

That directness is helped by an old-school No9. On Tuesday it will be either former Arsenal frontman Olivier Giroud or, more likely, Japan international Ayase Ueda, who has hit the ground running since signing from Feyenoord in August.

The wingers are key to the Ancelotti system, although he will be without the suspended Ethan Mbappe — yes, Kylian’s brother — at the Emirates after he elbowed a Betis player in the face in the previous round. Living up to a famous name in football, it ain’t easy.

Davide is doing an admirable job of it, mind you. Unable to make the grade as a player at AC Milan, he cut his losses early and started coaching aged 23.

He followed his father first to PSG, then Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, back to Real and Brazil. This after obtaining a degree in sports science.

At Everton — having been welcomed to the club by Duncan Ferguson via a whisky-fuelled evening at a Liverpool jazz bar where both Ancelottis hummed along to a rendition of Nessun Dorma — Davide did much of the hard work on the training pitch.

He formed close bonds with the players, and impressed staff behind the scenes with a lack of ego. Davide and his wife Ana based their young family on Merseyside and were popular figures in the community.

Things became difficult when the health of Davide’s mother, Luisa, seriously deteriorated. He was forced to miss training sessions as he flew back to visit her in Italy, but his work ethic was beyond reproach. Luisa passed away in May 2021, just before the Ancelottis returned to Madrid.

Lille played Everton in a pre-season friendly this summer and it felt significant that Davide spoke to the club’s in-house TV channel after the game. Many inside and outside Finch Farm would be pleased to see him return to the club as No1 some day.

Despite holding face-to-face talks with Rangers, Davide’s first role sans Carlo came at Brazilian side Botafogo last year. It was to last just five months.

‘He was well-liked and adapted quickly to the country,’ said one source in Brazil. ‘But his training routine with the players was intense and he did not get a lot of good results.’

His time as assistant to the national team brought with it some controversy. He appeared to shake his head in frustration when his father sent for Neymar to come on in a World Cup group-stage win over Scotland.

Slighting Neymar carries a death sentence in Brazil and Ana received some ugly abuse on social media. ‘Do you know that you are interpreting an imagine in a completely wrong way, with no relation to reality, and that because of this I have been receiving countless insults,’ she posted online. ‘We are the ones who want Brazil to win.’

Another statement from Davide nipped the outcry in the bud. He later earned praise for fronting up and giving the first TV interview after Brazil’s shock elimination by Norway in the last 16. That interview was in Portuguese — one of six languages he speaks fluently.

For now, though, it is back to French. With a Greek twist.

‘He’s a very cultured coach,’ Giroud, who at 40 is three years older than his manager, has said. ‘He always tries to communicate with us through metaphors or stories from Greek mythology, which he’s passionate about. These are powerful messages.

‘He is open-minded. He tries to learn from great quotes and figures and draws inspiration from great coaches.’

Ancelotti cites Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Roberto De Zerbi, Diego Simeone and Arrigo Sacchi as influences — as well as former basketball coach Phil Jackson. And papa of course. Ancelotti Snr still calls his son after every game.

Davide has studied Arsenal closely in the past — having come up against them with Real in the 2025 quarter-finals, and used the Gunners’ 0-0 draw at the Etihad as the blueprint for Real’s defensive masterclass at the same ground a year earlier.

Expect Lille to defend in a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 out of possession, be cautious with their pressing and try to hit Arsenal on the counter, with former Spurs man Nabil Bentaleb playing long passes from midfield.

A result at the English champions would be the best achievement of Ancelotti’s fledgling career as his own man.

His appointment at Lille came at the behest of club president Olivier Letang, an old ally of Carlo’s, and led to speculation Davide was a soft touch who Letang could mould to his whim. So far, Davide is doing a good job of proving those doubters wrong.

‘He’s a lovely guy,’ added Favorinus. ‘Very close with his players, and very accessible in the media. He’s young, and has a freshness to him. He’s a new face, using new words. I’m excited to see what he can do in the Champions League.’

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