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Opinion: The hidden risk in Brazil’s choice for Ancelotti

The year-long wait for Italian coach is controversial in Brazil, but there's another issue that hasn't been addressed so far: will there be too much power in the hands of squad leaders who took part in this decision?
by
Bruno Freitas
2023-06-26 11:02:32
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Image Credits: © (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Some things about Brazil are difficult to explain to people from other places. The signing of the Italian Carlo Ancelotti as the Brazilian National Team new coach is still not official, but once reported by Globo, it’s treated as a fact. The main (and powerful) media group in the country has historical relations with CBF (the Brazilian FA) and certainly wouldn’t risk its reputation taking a step forward on a sensitive topic for a nation passionate about football. So, Ancelotti is coming, even though it’s not known when this is going to happen.

Since the news broke on Globo, the Brazilian football community has been ignited. The press debates the alleged collateral damage of waiting a year for Ancelotti, until the Italian fulfills his contract with Real Madrid, which lasts until the European summer of 2024. This is the current local controversy, feed by the opinions coming from heroes of the past, like Romário. The 1994 world champion thinks it’s too risky to waste a year of work on the road until the 2026 World Cup without a coach. Let’s remember: the South American qualifying tournament starts in 2023, with six matches until the end of the year, including an always breathtaking clash against the world champions Argentina.

Who has the power?
But perhaps there’s another risk in Ancelotti’s choice, a detail still ignored in the debate. The CBF comes from a decade of abrupt presidential transitions, with former presidents investigated by the Justice (Ricardo Teixeira and Marco Polo Del Nero) or even arrested for corruption (José Maria Marín). The current president, Ednaldo Rodrigues, is an executive with an insignificant trajectory, who only sat in the most important chair in Brazilian football because his predecessor (Rogério Cabloco) was removed from office after allegations of sexual harassment. It means we are in an evident period of political fragility. As a result, the decision-making power over the future of the national team was decentralized to other voices that matter.

The weight of the players’ opinion
Players who have been to the last two World Cups, such as defenders Marquinhos and Danilo, have publicly stated that they attended talks with Ednaldo Rodrigues regarding the choice of Tite’s replacement. The country’s press has reported on several recent occasions that Ancelotti is an unanimous name among the squad elite players, in a choice led by stars who work with the Italian in Real Madrid, such as Vinicius Junior, Eder Militão and Rodrygo, in addition to Casemiro, currently in Manchester United , but who was under Carletto’s orders for some years.

This could mean that, in the event of Ancelotti’s arrival being confirmed, this group of leaders will gain political power on the way to the next World Cup. In this case, the coach could find himself limited in experimenting with emerging names, in order not to affect the project, diplomatically speaking. However, most of the members of this players group already have two FIFA World Cups under their belt, at a time when important national teams usually carry out generational transitions.

An aging team in 2026?
Casemiro is still great at 31 and will be 34 at the World Cup scheduled for North America countries. Does this mean that the midfield won’t be able to play at a high level for Brazil again? Well, it’s uncertain at this point, only time will tell us. However, other promising youngsters of the same position may have their evolution somehow spoiled with the yellow jersey, if Ancelotti really saves a room for the United player. Bruno Guimarães (25), Douglas Luiz (25), Danilo (22, the one from Nottingham Forest) and Andrey Santos (19) are in that queu, to name a few.

The scenario can be observed in other team sections, mainly in defense, with Alisson (30), Ederson (29), Marquinhos (29) and Danilo (31, the one from Juventus). The same thought can be applied to Neymar (31). The PSG star didn’t attend the Seleção last friendly matches — and didn’t join the meeting with the CBF president –, but he also made public statements in favor of Ancelotti’s choice. If comes to South America, the Italian will also have to think about betting on the controversial player for 2026, accepting his well-known “package” of injuries and stardom, now with his aging.

Tough thought, but Brazil already lost two of their three games in 2023 (Morocco and Senegal), all of them without Neymar. As fans often say on social media: “No Ney, no party!”

With or without Neymar, there’s an expectation that the new leadership among players can be with names that certainly will have a long path wearing the yellow shirt, like Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, both 22 years old. A sign of the future will already come this year with the qualifiers starting rounds.

Please say YES – or SI
Anyway, Brazil fans are waiting for new things after two frustrating World Cup under Tite, which ended in the quarterfinals. For the fans, it’s not enough to beat Ecuador, Peru, etc. for four years and then hit the big time and fail to be competitive against European sides. Based on this known demand, we should ask: will Ancelotti build his project around reliable (and powerful) veterans or will he open up the National Team to the future? Can the veteran coach manage to merge these two worlds?

Well, before that we still need an official “Yes, I’m coming” from Carletto.

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