Xabi Alonso hails ‘respected’ Everton assistant Davide Ancelotti
Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso has hailed ‘respected’ Everton assistant manager and Carlo Ancelotti’s son, Davide.
The 31-year old joined Everton in December 2019 when the club appointed Carlo as Marco Silva’s successor, working with his father for the fifth time.
Davide worked as a fitness coach while Carlo was manager of both Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, while he stepped up into an assistant role at Bayern Munich and Napoli.
Alonso, who played for Carlo at both Real Madrid and Bayern, spoke highly (via The Liverpool Echo) of his former manager, but also reserved special praise for Davide too.
Alonso said: “Davide loves football. He watches so many games, he thinks about what to do, how to train, and with Francesco [Mauri, coach at Everton], they would prepare all the practices and even though they were really, really young they were dealing with all of us.
“Age wasn’t an issue. They were prepared and they were ready to help us and were ready to prepare us and help us get better. They were respected. It wasn’t a matter of age, they were there, always trying to help us, preparing good sessions and thinking about how to get better with the team.
“Davide, Francesco, Carlo, they are like a proper Italian family. They are making their mark at Goodison Park.”
Kind words from Alonso
It’s always interesting to hear players speak about assistant coaches because they can often get overlooked, or it can be easy to dismiss or question the work that they do.
Carlo has undoubtedly transformed Everton since arriving at Goodison Park around 15 months ago, and while Duncan Ferguson has received credit for Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s physical transformation, not much has been mentioned about Davide.
While some may assume nepotism, Davide must have some degree of natural talent to have built such an impressive CV at such a young age, and it’s interesting to know that players find him just as influential and respectable on the training ground as they do Carlo.
Between Carlo, Davide and Ferguson, Everton appear to found a winning combination, and as we continue to push ourselves forward as a club it is exciting to imagine where the club could be should the Ancelotti duo continue to be so influential.
In other Everton news, Carlo Ancelotti hopes that the double signing of Isco and Lucas Vasquez could convince James Rodriguez to stay at Everton.