Italy’s Carlo Ancelotti will be Brazil manager in a year’s time once his contract with Real Madrid comes to an end, a senior source from the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) told AFP on Tuesday.
The announcement, made by a source who did not wish to be identified, of the upcoming arrival of the 64-year-old Italian coach in the country of Pelé puts an end to months of negotiations between the European and the boss of the federation Brazilian, Ednaldo Rodrigues, who has always considered the Italian as his preferred option to revive a Seleçao in search of a second wind after accumulating setbacks.
Ancelotti is under contract with Real Madrid until June 2024 and he has said publicly that he wants to continue until then. He will take the reins of the Seleçao from the Copa America 2024, organized next year in the United States (June 20-July 14). A few minutes before this announcement, the CBF indicated in a press release that the Brazilian Fernando Diniz, coach of Fluminense, a club from Rio de Janeiro, would lead the five-time world champion team until Ancelotti took over as coach.
Diniz “is a coach who really has a game project very similar to that of the coach who will take over from the Copa America, Ancelotti,” said the CBF boss, according to statements relayed by Brazilian portals UOL and Globo Esporte. Brazilian coach Tite, who had been in place since 2016, left his post after the defeat against Croatia in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar in December. Until Carlo Ancelotti takes office, Fernando Diniz, 49, will be divided between the technical direction of Fluminense and the Brazilian selection.
Diniz will therefore lead the Brazilians as they enter the South American zone qualifiers for the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada in 2026. The team will face Bolivia and the Peru in September.
Ancelotti will become the fourth foreigner to take the reins of the Seleçao, the first in nearly 60 years. The Italian had however declared on several occasions that he would retire after this last stint at Real, after nearly 30 years on the sidelines. But he finally let himself be seduced by Brazil, a country where football is king, to take control of a Seleçao that is no longer a dream.
The recruitment of Ancelotti is a way of responding to a major challenge: the five-time world champions have been chasing after their sixth star for more than 20 years and their last title in 2002. Eliminated in the quarter-finals of the last two Worlds, still traumatized by the 7-1 at home by Germany in the semi-finals in 2014, the Seleçao seeks to reconnect with its glory.
Especially since Argentina’s historic neighbors and rivals are in a state of grace, with the Copa America title won in the middle of the Maracana, in Rio de Janeiro, in 2021, and above all the supreme consecration last year in Qatar.
In an attempt to regain its brilliance for the 2026 World Cup, Brazil is therefore calling on a technician with an astounding record, the only one to have led teams to the national title in the five main European championships (Italy, England, France, Germany and Spain). “Carletto” has also won four Champions Leagues as a coach, two with AC Milan (2003 and 2007) and two with Real (2014 and 2022).
But it is also for his composure and his closeness to the players that he was chosen by Brazil. “We went to look for him for his record, but also because he is a good person, (…) those who have worked with him say that he is open, cultured, and that he appreciates Brazilian football” , recently declared the president of the CBF to the channel beIN Sports.
It remains to be seen whether he will be as comfortable in this new role as coach, without the contact with the players on a daily basis. At the very start of his coaching career, as an assistant to his mentor Arrigo Sacchi, Ancelotti had the bitter experience of losing a World Cup final on penalties with Italy to Seleçao in 1994 .
As coach, he will have to work again with Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Eder Militao, key elements of his last spell at Real, where he won six titles. “He’s the best coach in the world,” said Vinicius, 22, who has improved tremendously under the Italian. Vinicius will be called upon to lead the new generation of Brazilian players, especially as there is uncertainty about the continuation of the international career of Neymar, 31.