SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil is hoping to have a new national team coach in place this month ahead of its next two World Cup qualifiers but fans are growing impatient as negotiations with Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti drag on.
Two sources at Brazil’s soccer federation, CBF, confirmed to The Associated Press that negotiations with Ancelotti are ongoing but complicated by the fact that he has another season left on his Madrid contract. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly.
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One of them said the talks are led on the Brazil side by CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues and national team director Rodrigo Caetano.
“And they are keeping a lid on the negotiations. It is clear there’s no done deal with anyone for now,” he said.
He added that the federation "is not in a rush,” while acknowledging that Brazil hopes to present a new coach before May 20 when it announces the squad for its next two World Cup qualifying matches in June.
Brazil has been without a coach since Dorival Júnior was fired on March 28, three days after a 4-1 loss to bitter rival Argentina in Buenos Aires.
Speculation about Ancelotti’s departure from Madrid and a possible move to Brazil has grown during what has turned into a mediocre season for the Spanish powerhouse. It was eliminated by Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals, lost the Spanish cup final to Barcelona and is trailing the Catalan club by four points with five rounds remaining in the Spanish league.
Madrid has not commented on Ancelotti’s future beyond noting that he has a contract with the club until the end of next season. For his part, the 65-year-old Italian has dodged questions about Brazil, saying he will remain with Madrid as long as the club president Florentino Pérez wants him to stay.
Some Real Madrid fans say Ancelotti has reached the end of the road with the club and are hoping for Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso to replace him.
Meanwhile, pressure is mounting in Brazil for the soccer federation to sign a coach that can help re-invigorate the five-time World Cup champions after a series of poor results and performances.
Brazil has not reached a World Cup final since winning the trophy in 2002. The country’s last international men’s title was the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brazil is currently fourth in South American qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, 10 points behind group leader and defending champion Argentina, which already has secured its World Cup spot after 14 rounds.
Brazilian media have reported that Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus, currently at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal, is an alternative if a deal with Ancelotti doesn’t work out.
Some commentators would rather see a Brazilian in charge of the team.
“We should let one of our coaches do it. I would have left Dorival on the job,” Cafu, world champion with Brazil in 1994 and 2002, told Brazil’s SBT network on Monday.
Galvao Bueno, a sports commentator who often speaks as a hardcore Brazil fan, on Tuesday said that the CBF has embarrassed Brazil with its choices since coach Tite left in the end of 2022. Ramon Menezes and Fernando Diniz had successive caretaker roles for about half a year each and Dorival was in charge for just over a year.
“What the CBF has done to Brazilian soccer is absurd. Four years with two interim coaches, it is a shame,” Bueno said. “We have discussed whether Ancelotti is coming or not since January 2023. It looks absolutely ridiculous.”
It remains unclear whether Ancelotti or another coach will be in place in time to name the squad for the World Cup qualifiers in early June, away against Ecuador and at home against Paraguay.
Real Madrid’s last league match is on May 25. The next event on the team’s schedule is the Club World Cup in the United States, which starts in mid-June.
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AP Sports Writer Tales Azzoni in Madrid contributed to this reporter.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
