Ednaldo Rodrigues, the President of the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF), has officially announced that starting from June 2024, the Italian coach will be at the helm of the country’s national team.
Carlo Ancelotti, who currently manages Real Madrid, will honor his contract with the Bernabeu team until the conclusion of the 2023/24 season. As per FIFA regulations, a coach or player can only commit to a new team within the final six months of their existing contract. Consequently, Coach Ancelotti cannot formalize a contract with CBF before January 1, 2024.
CBF had pursued Ancelotti as their top choice after Tite’s departure from the Brazilian team at the end of 2022. Following Brazil’s disappointing performance in the World Cup held in Qatar, the Brazilian coach lost his position. Ancelotti emerged as a strong candidate, but he consistently emphasized his commitment to honoring his contract with Real Madrid.
The appointment of coach Ancelotti was criticized by former Brazilian players. Cafu or Rivaldo opposed the idea of choosing a foreign coach for the national team. However, the current “Selecao” stars such as Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo or Eder Militao support Ancelotti to lead Brazil. This is a group of students who are close to the Italian coach at Real.
While waiting for Ancelotti to come to work, Brazilian media revealed that CBF chose Fernando Diniz as interim coach in the national team. He will hold both roles as a coach at Fluminense and the Brazil national team. Coach Diniz will be recruited when “Selecao” plays on FIFA Days. CBF accepted to pay a sum of money to convince Fluminense to let go.
Brazil’s next matches will take place in September in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, against Bolivia and Peru, respectively.
