It seems like yesterday that the dismissal of Carlo Ancelotti from the Napoli bench, where he was the second worst coach of the last 20 years after Rudi Garcia, had been considered by the Italian press and public opinion almost a crime of high treasonIt was December 2019 and it was one of the very rare cases in which the manager of the 5 Champions League wins, admired in every corner of the planet, was openly questioned in Italy. Results in hand, president De Laurentiis was not entirely wrong: Carletto may have won other Cups with Real Madrid, but Napoli then took home two Scudetti, with two different coaches after Ancelotti, while with Carletto they were 20 points behind Inter and Juventus.
Years later, history repeated itself, this time in Brazil, where Ancelotti has chosen to put himself on the line by leading a national team to a World Cup for the first time. To bring home theHexa, that is, the long-awaited sixth world title that Brazilians have been waiting for for 24 years (which will now become at least 28…), the Italian coach was covered in gold: he is by far the highest paid coach of this World Cup with his 10 million euros a year or so, with a contract guaranteed until the 2030 World Cup, due to an ill-advised renewal a few weeks before the World Cup.
Carlo has once again brought his son Davide, the controversial coach of Botafogo, with him.
Improper from the point of view of the Brazilian Football Federation, of course, because the most successful coach ever failed at the World Cup with the Seleçao, and as happened in Naples, also in Brazil they are heavily criticizing him and his son Davide, who his father also brought with him in the World Cup adventure after his experience at Real Madrid. And that last year he even managed to place himself as head coach of Botafogo, a club that came from the Brazilian championship-Copa Libertadores double and that instead with Ancelotti Jr. was the protagonist of a more than anonymous season“Recommended,” they said in Naples, while the complacent press saw nothing wrong with the most successful coach in history choosing to work with his son, in keeping with the classic Italian nepotistic tradition.
Criticism of Ancelotti, sarcastically called "Gypsy Master"
“The intern” was instead nicknamed Davide in Brazil, while dad Carlo was sarcastically compared to Professor Pardal, which is the name used in Brazil for the Disney character known in Italy as Gyro Gearloose, that is, the brilliant inventor who, however, in South America is synonymous with a person who is a phenomenon, who complicates simple things and, in the case of football, who does tactical experiments without reason and, in the attempt to be a genius, ends up making everything worse. This is what the millions of disappointed Brazilians must have thought the elimination of the Seleção in the round of 16 against surprising Norway, who at this point had not coincidentally dominated the qualifying group against Italy.
Not even the impressive sympathy operation put in place by the very active communication office of the Brazilian Football Federation will be enough to console the frustration of the Brazilian fans. In recent months, Carletto has appeared everywhere and in every way, ending up overexposing him and generating very high expectations: from Carnival to Sunday TV programmes, from promotional and motivational videos to commercial for Brahma beer, in which she stars with RonaldoIn hindsight, it would have been better to keep a low profile, because now the disappointment is even more stinging and the #ForaAncelotti trend has already started on social media.
For the Seleção it was the most disastrous World Cup ever
For Brazil, despite having a coach of the calibre of Ancelotti at the helm, This edition's has been the worst campaign ever, or thereabouts, in a World Cup.The five-time champions hadn't lost in the round of 16 since Italia '90, and that happened at the hands of Maradona and a national team, Argentina, the reigning champion and soon-to-be World Cup runner-up. Norway, on the other hand, despite being in excellent form technically, is definitely an underdog, yet they dispatched Brazil by dominating what is theoretically their specialty: dribbling: the Scandinavians held possession for two-thirds of the match. (Brazilians' 34% possession is their worst ever World Cup record). Norway also completed 531 passes, compared to 379 for the more talented South Americans, with 89% accuracy versus 85%.
Ancelotti's future: theoretically confirmed, but...
After such a flop, Carletto's future hangs by a thread. The technical director of the Brazilian Football Federation, Rodrigo Caetano immediately confirmed Ancelotti until the 2030 World Cup, as per his contract"Now it's crucial to start a more calm and stable cycle, ensuring continuity in the coach's work until the 2030 World Cup and making the necessary adjustments. We need the right peace of mind to continue on this path and best prepare for the next World Cup," he said after the defeat against Norway. But the discontent in the environment and among the fans They wouldn't rule out the possibility that such a stinging defeat could lead to an early departure. This confirms that sometimes it's great teams that make great coaches, and this Brazil was clearly not Real Madrid.
