Time to start talking about the seleção, the eventual new director and new coach and the first step in the next "Rumo ao Hexa" cycle, this time culminating in another 24-year gap since the last title. After several big names being touted late last year, a few foreign publications claiming that coaches like Zidane had been approached, it's time for some more concrete news. Earlier this week CBF reportedly said they wanted to sit down with Ancelotti even though they understand he will probably not be available. Today, UOL also reported that Luis Enrique is being lined up for an interview: https://www.uol.com.br/esporte/fute...tecnico-luis-enrique-vira-alvo-da-selecao.htm The expectation is that a director will be named first and then a coach, so it remains to be seen who the director will be. One interesting thing to note is that while the President of CBF, Ednaldo Rodrigues, will make the final decision, Ronaldo has reportedly been collaborating with him. It makes sense if you consider who some of the candidates are (Ancelotti and now, reportedly, Luis Enrique) since Ronaldo has plenty of history and connections to Spain and both Real and Barça. I was surprised to see how receptive some Brazilians are to this. I expected more resistance in forums like reddit, for example. In the end though, to me it all depends on how the coach lays out his ideas to CBF and of course on the support they'll have. While I'm less excited about this idea than Ancelotti, either way I just want to see someone given the resources to do well.
Luis Enrique's name is being tossed around as a possibility. I actually think that could be a good fit. Some may look at the way Spain played in 2022 WC and say that it's a very indirect style of play but Spain lack speed and quality up front. When he coached Barca he showed tactical flexibility and had the team playing a more direct style taking advantage of Neymar, Messi, and Suarez.
I've started building a depth chart similar to what I had in the lead up to 2022, this time I'm going to try to cover the full cycle. While doing that, it occurred to me that we're only 6 weeks away from the first convocação (maybe even just 5 if they do it 3 weeks in advance). Things will have to move fast in February if CBF's President sticks to his guns. Anyone see any interesting names to add to the pool? I can see Caio Henrique (LB at Monaco) and Luis Henrique (RW at Betis), being among the first new names added to the pool.
February and still no coach. At one point last year Dorival's name was being tossed around in the media (probably his friends trying to push his name IMO). Since is free and CBF hasn't really gone for him, I think it's safe to say they have no interest. For the ones trying to take Abel out of Palmeiras, the latest is that CBF isn't happy with his behavior in the sideline. The names of Ancelotti, JJ, Luis Enrique are still on the table. Apparently JJ has half a year left on his contract and no penalty fee for breaking his contact in Turkey.
Right now it certainly seems as though we might see them come back to Brazil and look at Dorival or maybe Abel, despite the current talk. Jorge Jesus really is lucky he left when he did, I think. Maybe Abel is more of a hothead, but I don't see Jorge Jesus being that much better. I also think people in Brazil overestimate him thanks to his record there, when he's not that consistently good overall. Now we're 5 weeks away from the next convocação (4 if it happens earlyish)!
Nothing really new in this week's news about hiring a new coach: https://ge.globo.com/blogs/blog-da-...a-tecnicos-e-nao-descarta-abel-ferreira.ghtml
Following the recent news that World Cup qualifying will start in September, not in the March or June windows, there is now some news from CBF: https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...ate-junho-pelo-treinador-do-real-madrid.ghtml Reportedly CBF are now willing to wait until the end of the season to see if they can get Ancelotti. In the meantime, they will consider using Ramon Menezes, who has been coaching the U20s, for the March and maybe June friendlies. I like this. It tells me that while the CBF President was initially convinced it was important to get someone right away, he is not just some "cabeça dura" who is going to do that because he said so and instead he is willing to change his mind based on what's in front of him. Doesn't mean we'll get Ancelotti, but I think it's better than hurrying. Reportedly they will meet with Real Madrid's president in February. I'm sure they'll also meet with Luis Enrique and some of the other candidates or relevant parties.
ESPN Brasil reported this morning that Ancelotti will be the coach but that nothing will be communicated or made official until the end of the season. https://www.espn.com.br/futebol/sel...ecnico-real-madrid-assumir-selecao-brasileira Ancelotti has since denied it in the press conference at the Club World Cup and CBF has also communicated an official denial: https://www.cbf.com.br/selecao-brasileira/noticias/selecao-masculina/comunicado-oficial
Indeed. CBF was prudent to act quickly in issuing an official denial. I'm still in favor of Abel as Tite's successor. I know my opinion isn't widely shared on BigSoccer, but minus his temper and the opposition that Palmeiras fans would present, he's the only name that I think can come in and impact the Seleção positively right away.
If CBF quickly denied it means there is something. Not necessarily a done deal, but negotiations. These leaks have the potential of pissing of Ancelotti because it unsettles his current club Madrid.
I thought I'd add a couple of videos and my own comment now that I've watched some takes on this and we have a good idea of what's going on. UOL news: PVC, Rodrigo Mattos comment on the news The UOL news is a good summary. Basically things have gone well overall since it was first reported on December 12 that CBF reached out. Ronaldo had been doing a lot of the work as a middleman, and that appears to have been one of CBF's best decisions, as they decided to work with him instead of agents or a traditional "cartola". Now Kaká appears to be in the mix. This is also good, for the same reasons. However, Kaká is being considered as a candidate for the director position (formerly coordinator, when it was Juninho Paulista). This to me though is a big question mark. He doesn't have any such experience. I think Ednaldo Pereira's desire to have an ex-player in this position is good, but he also wants someone fairly recent and not many have this kind of experience. The December news floated Falcão as a possible choice, because he has experience and had worked with Ancelotti before. In the end, I think if Kaká's role is as a coordinator and most of what he is doing is logistics and communicating between levels (since he would be in charge of that for youth teams) that could work. I guess whether the new hire is director or coordinator is a question of semantics, it's how they define the role that will matter. Anyways, this all seems like a very likely scenario now. Real Madrid is not the type of club to get in the way if someone wants to leave. Bruno Vicari reporting this today is one of two things to me: either he wanted to be the one getting credit for the scoop, or he thinks it's likely and wants to see if there's a negative reaction in Brazil. Neto, predictably, has come out against this, for example. Maybe others will do if this gains momentum and some people probably want to push back and see a Brazilian coach hired. But Ancelotti overall is a really popular choice and if I had to bet, I'd bet on him coming in June with Ronaldo and Kaká playing this big part behind the scenes. I am most curious about what the structure around him would look like, from Kaká or whoever the eventual director is, to his assistants and scouts.
Today's news is that Ancelotti would bring only two staff members and the rest would be Brazilian: https://www.uol.com.br/esporte/colu...ho-auxiliar-e-apenas-um-preparador-fisico.htm Frankly, if news starts coming in every day it's going to get annoying for Ancelotti and Real Madrid and having to answer questions constantly. Which could be bad for CBF.
I'm kind of impressed with CBF if they managed to sign Ancelotti tbh. National teams aren't supposed to get this level of coaching in this day and age. With that said, Mister Jorge Jesus is still my #1 pick for NT coach.
Legit question, if Madrid doesn't win the CL last season, would Ancelotti even be talked for the job ? 2 years ago Carlo was at Everton seemingly on his way downhill with coaching. And last year, Madrid were basically outplayed by every CL opponent for most of those ties needing many late goals some of them miraculous comebacks. The Final was actually their most solid and less dramatic game although also not impressive from an attacking point of view. I am not sure how he would / will do coaching the NT, but I feel this choice is mostly based on media and fan acceptance rather than a well thought out analysis.
i just read bosnian media interview with halihodzic(former marocco coach) that he had a contact with brazilian fa. he said it was just that and nothing more
I think it's a fair question, and the things you point our are fair, but I wouldn't go this far: The CL campaign did put a spotlight on Ancelotti, Vini and Rodrygo, particularly in Brazilian circles, and there is no denying that some of the enthusiasm around him is because he is the man-manager type, an opposite to Tite's "tactician" type and Brazilian football is very reactionary. But he is nonetheless regarded as one of the best coaches in the world. Everyone has bad stints somewhere. It's always about more than just the coach. CBF needs to provide the right coach with the right environment. There isn't one magical coach who we have to pick at the right time or else it won't work. Ancelotti clearly can do the work and is adaptable. His relationships and mentoring of some of our young stars are plusses. And even if he is the best choice, we have 4 months until he's confirmed and then the anti-foreign coach sentiment and pressure will really pick up and he'll have to beat that too. So who knows.
It wasn't just one bad stint though. His stock had been going down since he left Madrid the 1st time around. At Bayern players complained about the lack of intensity and meticulousness in his training sessions. They were literally training behind his back. Granted they were used to Pep at that point. Then he was fired at Napoli before ending up at Everton. It was a downward trajectory. I think everyone was surprised Florentino called him up. My problem is, people have been complaining about old school or tactically antiquated mangers ... and Carlo isn't known to be that tactically astute of a manager. I can see how looking at his CL success and extrapolating that into WC success, but he doesn't seem to solve what people have been complaining about. Just not sure people know what they are getting here. Of course there are positives as you mentioned like having a lot of experience with Brazilians including 3-4 that should be included in this coming cycle. He is also younger than I thought at 63. I thought he was 70.
I could see this not working. But I could see that with anyone. In part because, like I said, whoever comes in needs the right factors around them too. If it doesn't work, all those points you bring up will be front and center. And I'm sure a lot of them will be talked about the closer the signing comes to reality. You know me though, I am the eternal optimist when it comes to the national team. I will say though, I don't think we need tactical genius as our number 1 attribute in the coach, I think we need a balance of things, including his experience.
The first friendly of the year is going to be announced tomorrow, so this article might seem like a little bit of an "announcement of an announcement" but it's actually got quite a bit of information: https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...elecao-em-2023-marrocos-e-possibilidade.ghtml As stated above, CBF is expected to announce our first friendly of the year tomorrow. Morocco, in Morocco, is the likeliest opponent. Brazil will play only one match, not the usual two. The CBF President wants the team to have time to train and not worry about travel and such. CBF is scheduling friendlies now, not a third party. The contract with Pitch, the former partner that organized our friendlies has ended and they won't sign with a new partner unless they find what they want. CBF does want to play more matches in Brazil. CBF has not spoken to any potential hires yet. If they hire someone who is currently employed, they will speak to the club first (hint, hint: Ancelotti). According to this article qualifiers are likely to start in June. (A recent report from elsewhere suggested they won't start until September.) I'll add one note, you might already know what it is if you read my posts: the convocação is just 3 weeks away under the typical model/timeline.
Confirmed Brazil x Morocco on March 25 with Ramon Menezes as interim coach: https://ge.globo.com/futebol/seleca...a-selecao-em-amistoso-contra-o-marrocos.ghtml https://www.cbf.com.br/selecao-bras...ocos-em-amistoso-no-estadio-ibn-batouta-no-di