The president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said on Tuesday that Real Madrid’s Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti is in talks to become the first foreigner in over 60 years to manage Brazil’s national team. Ancelotti is currently the head coach of Real Madrid.
Ancelotti, who is 64 years old and has one season left on his deal with Real, has said that he would prefer to honor the contract. He will take over Brazil in time for the Copa America, which will be held in the United States beginning in June 2024.
A previous announcement made by the Brazilian federation said that Fernando Diniz, who plays for Fluminense, will be in charge of the squad for the next season.
“This guy (Diniz) is a coach who has a nice style of play,” Ednaldo Rodriguez, the president of the CBF, said in an interview with CNN Brazil.
“His coaching approach is very much like that of Carlo Ancelotti, who will be taking over as head coach for the Copa America.”
The champion football fanatic When it comes time for the World Cup in 2026, Brazil will want one of the most successful managers in European football to lead their national team to victory. That would make it the first time since the year 2002.
The humiliating loss to Croatia in the quarterfinals of the tournament in 2022 was particularly painful for the Brazilians since it came at the same time as their fiercest continental adversaries, Argentina, were crowned champions.
As a result of their elimination, Tite drew the curtain down on his six years in head of the organization.
‘Decent individual’
After months of discussions with Rodrigues, who had the Italian on the top of his list of potential candidates, Ancelotti finally gave in and agreed to take over as Brazil’s manager.
After over 30 years of coaching, Ancelotti had said that the job with Real Madrid would be his last, but the opportunity to take over one of the most prestigious and difficult positions in football caused him to alter his mind.
The Brazilian leadership has said that they were drawn to Ancelotti not just because of his track record of winning championships but also because of his easygoing personality and his capacity to create strong relationships with the players.
Recent comments made by Rodrigues to beIN Sports quote him as saying, “We went after him not only due to his record, but also because he is a decent person.”
“Those who have worked with him say that he is open, cultured, and that he appreciates Brazilian football.”
When he was Arrigo Sacchi’s assistant coach during Italy’s loss to Brazil on penalties in the World Cup final in 1994, his passion for Brazilian football had to take a back seat for a while. Brazil won the tournament.
Ancelotti will be joined by several former players from Real Madrid who are now playing for Brazil.
His most recent stint with Real has yielded six titles, thanks in large part to the contributions of important players like as Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, and Eder Militao.
Vinicius, who has evolved under Ancelotti and created a deep relationship with the coach who backed the 22-year-old Brazilian when he was the focus of racial abuse during the previous season, stated, “He is the best coach in the world.” Ancelotti supported Vinicius when he was the victim of racist abuse during the previous season.
Ancelotti will become the fourth coach of Brazil who is not of Brazilian descent. The last referee was an Argentine named Filpo Nunez, who presided over a single game in 1965.
Ancelotti has triumphed in the Champions League on two separate occasions, once with AC Milan and once with Real Madrid.
He has won the domestic league championship in Spain with Real Madrid and Italy’s Milan, as well as England’s Chelsea, Germany’s Bayern Munich, and France’s Paris Saint-Germain.
Since Tite stepped down as head coach of the Brazil squad, caretaker duties have been handled by Ramon Menezes, who will now turn those responsibilities over to Diniz.
In a video message, Rodrigues stated, “Fernando Diniz will lead the Brazilian team for a year, and I’m sure he will do it with great competence, as he has always done during his professional career.” Rodrigues was referring to Diniz’s performance during his whole professional career.
This year, Diniz, who is 49 years old, will serve as the head coach for the first six matches in South American qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Among those matches are the matchups against world champions Argentina and Uruguay.
According to Diniz, “it is a dream, an honor, and a tremendous amount of pride to serve the national team.”
In September, Brazil will kick off their qualifying campaign with a match against Bolivia at home, and then they will play Peru on the road.