IN May 2025, something seismic happened within the context of the Brazilian national team. The federation, after hiring and firing managers, finally landed one of the most successful coaches in history. Carlo Ancelotti, serial winner and one of the greatest club coaches of all time, had swapped the comfort of some of the grandest European sides for the greatest national side in world football. There was, however, one catch.
Brazil had never employed a foreign coach at a World Cup. It didn't matter. Having endured a prolonged slump, they were willing to disregard history. After some back and forth, the Italian said yes.
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At the Copa America in 2024, the Selecao were eliminated in the quarterfinals. To compound matters, they were wobbling in the World Cup qualifiers a year later. In March 2025, Argentina had thrashed them 4-1. After 12 matchdays, they were well off the pace. The federation just didn't know what was happening; there was only disorder, disquiet and a sense of chaos wherever they looked. Don Carlo, as he's popularly called, came in and helped arrest the slide. The ship was steadied.
In the interim, Ancelotti, who exudes a sense of calm and charm wherever he has worked, was already working his magic. One story goes that when a few federation officials spoke to him in broken Spanish and Italian, he responded to them by saying 'I'm the one who has to make the effort to speak Portuguese here', according to the BBC. He really made the effort. He hired a teacher and had multiple lessons a week. The linguist picked it up pretty soon.
Ancelotti may or may not work out for the national team but these are the small things that he has always insisted on doing wherever he has gone. It's why the Selecao are cautiously optimistic. After decades of going into the World Cup as perennial favourites, they arrive in the US not as the top dogs but it won't bother their coach one bit.
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If Pep Guardiola and Marcelo Bielsa are two of the most popular coaches in terms of systems, coaching and reimagining the modern game, Ancelotti is the ultimate man manager. He gets the players in a way no other coach has been able to. You need to have special skills to survive the toxicity of the Real Madrid dressing room while getting all the egos inside that room to work together. He was able to do that while delivering titles. He has walked into a club like Everton and adjust and adapt to a new culture. It's how he has been able to win domestic leagues in each of the top five domestic leagues in Europe.
When in charge of an international during a tournament like this, these things count for a lot. More than coaching, you need to take all of them with you while ensuring your voice carries a certain gravitas. There's anyway not a lot of time to leave your own specific stylistic preferences in under 45 days but it's about getting the buy-in and managing as well as massaging egos.
In this context, it also helps the 67-year-old that he has previously worked with one of their main men, Vinicius Jr. The mercurial wide man has been a hit and miss but the Italian managed to bring the best out of the 25-year-old when he was the Real manager a few years ago. That's the kind of synergy he brings to the table. While certain sections of the media have unfairly labelled the Italian as a 'clap your hands' manager, what he does really well is trust his players and give them the necessary space to breathe. In an already high-pressure environment like the World Cup, players value those things. He tends to treat his players as adults.
"Maybe it's my attitude, the way I behave towards the players," he had once told The Guardian in an interview. "The respect I show them as people. I place great value on building those personal relationships."
Vinicius, who won the Best FIFA Men's Player Award in 2024, had this to say about Ancelotti. "I learnt a great deal from him, because he arrived at the club when I was 21,” he had said. “He gave me the confidence I needed. Every year I worked with him was very special – he is by far the best coach I’ve ever had. He is one of the greatest in football, if not the greatest."
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When the federation came to an agreement with Ancelotti, there was no sign of tempering. If anything, they went to town.
"Bringing Carlo Ancelotti," the federation president, Ednaldo Rodrigues, "to lead Brazil is more than a strategic move. It's a statement to the world that we are determined to regain the top spot on the podium. He is the greatest coach in history and now he is in charge of the greatest national team on the planet. Together, we will write glorious new chapters."
When Ancelotti takes charge of the Selecao's opener against Morocco on Saturday afternoon, he will become the first foreigner to do so in the country's glittering World Cup history. But if they are to be successful in the US — within their framework, successful is winning the tournament and nothing else — Ancelotti and Brazil will have to shatter 96 years of evidence and accepted wisdom.
No foreign coach has won the World Cup.
