“Respecting the footballer is fine, but I think it’s much more important to respect the person behind the footballer,” Ancelotti explains. “That’s my general approach. I’m not just a football coach, I’m a person who works as a coach. My own character was moulded by growing up with the people I consider my mentors, starting with my parents, and also my teachers and coaches. I always carry myself with the footballers I work with by focusing on them as people first and foremost.”

If anyone could query that assessment, it would be Davide, his son and assistant at the Santiago Bernabéu. Quite the opposite, in fact. “Both as a father and as a coach, he’s able to be authentic, to be himself, which means someone who cares a lot about his family members and his children,” he tells us. “The same goes for the players: he’s a very affectionate person both at work and in his personal life. He’s a very quiet person and there are never many conflicts with him. As a coach and as a father, he’s able to maintain a peaceful environment, the same as the one I grew up in when I was little. Objectively, there are very few differences between the father and the coach. I would say that the differences are almost non-existent. That’s why many players say they had a father-son relationship with him.”

A former footballer who played in the Milan youth system, Davide hung up his boots in 2009 when he was only 20 to pursue a career in management. He completed a Sports Science degree in 2011 and one year later started to work with his father as fitness coach at Paris Saint-Germain. He followed Carlo to Madrid, where he met his partner Ana, and in 2016 he received a UEFA A licence. Now 34, his eyes light up when he talks about his father, and their hug after Madrid’s incredible comeback against Manchester City in the 2021/22 Champions League semi-finals – on the anniversary of his late mother’s birthday – will always remain one of the most touching moments of that memorable campaign.

“I don’t remember when he was a footballer because he retired when I was four, but I recall we had this videotape at home with all his goals,” says Davide. “It wasn’t long as he didn’t score many, so I remembered them all. After watching it, I knew all those goals by heart. Naturally, I have more memories from when he became a coach. I remember being a very shy kid and, after the games, he would ask me to come back with the team on the coach, but I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t. I used to cry because I actually wanted to go, but I would say no in the moment because I was afraid of being there with Zinédine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero, who were my idols. He would say, ‘Are you sure? You’ll regret it!’ That’s a memory I have from when he coached Juventus and I was a kid of eight.”

Ancelotti’s warm personality does not tell the full story, however. His flexibility and eagerness to study the latest football tactics have always been valuable attributes. He was a 4-4-2 fanatic early in his career, so much so that he famously refused to have a certain Roberto Baggio in his team because the Italy great did not fit into his system. A few years later, Ancelotti won everything by using as many fantasista as possible – Rui Costa, Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf and Kaká to name a few – and those midfield magicians helped Milan conquer Europe in 2002/03 and 2006/07.

As the game continues to evolve, his son’s modern sensibility has proved indispensable. “A coach needs to adapt to football, which is ever-changing, to remain at such a high level for so long,” Davide explains. “Since the 1990s, he’s been able to keep up with the times and make a mental effort to stay up to date and listen. Another of his traits is that he can listen, which has always allowed him to stay in touch. I mostly challenge him. Generally speaking, all his staff do. I try to do that because I know it’s good for him.”

While Davide helps his father stay young, there is a neat symmetry at the other end of the spectrum. “Age doesn’t define people,” says Ancelotti Sr, talking not about himself but the ability of young talents to make an impact. “You can be very mature at 20 and a bit childish at 40.” And who better to prove his theory than Madrid’s latest gem, Jude Bellingham? The former Dortmund midfielder turned 20 in June, but already he is performing with the self-assurance of a veteran, much to his coach’s delight. “He has absolutely exceeded our expectations, especially in terms of scoring. He’s scored many goals. He’s settling in very well. He’s very young but very mature: he has a strong personality and character, and it’s helped him integrate into the club so confidently. He doesn’t seem like a 20-year-old. I believe his experience in Germany helped him a lot and made him even more mature.”

Bellingham’s thrilling start has Madrid fans dreaming of a long era of success, potentially stretching well beyond Ancelotti’s own reign. But while his love of the game shows no sign of waning for now, the Italian is not afraid to think about life after football. “Just as it never worried me when I was playing,” he says. “I knew I would find something to do. Travelling, for sure. There are plenty of places I’ve never seen: Australia, Argentina. With more time on my hands, I can spend it with my family, my grandchildren – I have five. I’ll have plenty to do. I’m not worried about what comes after.”