The greatest trick Carlo Ancelotti ever pulled was raising one eyebrow at 45 degrees. Ancelotti’s left eyebrow has become a symbol of his management style: easy-going, slightly rakish, the Jeffrey Lebowski. It’s in total contrast to the hyperactive supercoaches who dream of chalkboards and third-man runs. Even when he’s facing the sack or when his team are losing 5-1 on aggregate, Ancelotti is doubtlessly dreaming of cigars and opera. But Ol’ Man Carlo must know something because he just keeps rolling on. Thenext stop is Brazil. Well, OK, Europe because that’s where Brazil play most of their games these days, but you get the point: DON CARLO X SELEÇÃO!
“This landmark moment sees the coming together of two icons – the only five-time Fifa World Cup champions and a coach with an unmatched record across Europe’s elite competitions,” read a Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF) statement. “The CBF extends its sincere gratitude to Real Madrid and Mr [Florentino] Pérez for the cordiality and sportsmanship shown in facilitating the coach’s release during his contract term,” it continued, which is either a hopeless misreading of Pérez’s hiring-and-firing instincts or deadpan comic genius to rival Bob Mortimer on Last One Laughing.
Ancelotti will start his new job on Monday 26 May. The calendar has been kind to the CBF; had Monday been 25 May, it would have been the 20th anniversary of Istanbul, a night on which Carlo’s eyebrow reached a record 84 degrees elevation when Jerzy Dudek somehow saved Andriy Shevchenko’s shot from a yard out. For now, Ancelotti is jumping through the necessary hoops. “I have great respect for [Real Madrid] and these fans and I’m totally focused on finishing the last part of this spectacular adventure,” he said, idly watching the 2024-25 season swirl down the swanny. “Beginning on May 26 I will start coaching Brazil, which will be a great challenge personally.”
He has a headstart by virtue of his relationship with Rodrygo, Éder Militão, Endrick and especially Vinícius Jr, whose productivity quadrupled the moment Ancelotti returned to Madrid in 2021. Brazil have been so disappointing in recent tournaments – they’ve reached only one semi-final since they last won the World Cup in 2002, andit’s fair to say that wasn’t a source of pride– that the job is almost a free hit.
Ancelotti will be the first non-Brazilian to coach the team since 1925. In the modern eranone of the great football nationshave countenanced appointing a foreign manager. If Ancelotti succeeds he will probably change the culture of world football – and given it’s only four years since he was Everton manager, can you blame us for daydreaming about Argentina’s 2030 World Cup campaign being driven by Sean Dyche? Ancelotti has already won five Big/Bigger Cups, three Club World Cups and six domestic titles across five countries. If he adds the World Cup – with Brazil, after a 24-year wait – he’ll surely go down as the greatest football manager of all time. And if he fails completely, he’ll still be dreaming of cigars and opera. Life is short and Carlo’s winning.
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“He’s with us all the way. His shirt’s up in every changing room, home and away. We reference him all the time, and we should do because of his career, his journey. His journey before us, his journey with us, was amazing … so, he’s with us, and he would have enjoyed that performance” – Chris Wilder takes a moment to remember his former player George Baldock, who died in October at the age of 31, after Sheffield United secured their place in the Championship playoff final witha 6-0 aggregate victoryover Bristol City.
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