This week, the Brazil national team coaching situation got clearer and yet, somehow, became even more confusing in the process.
The local FA president Ednaldo Rodrigues is confident that Carlo Ancelotti will take on the job in a year’s time, once his contract with Real Madrid has come to an end. But there has been no confirmation from Ancelotti, and, in an official sense, nor can there be. He will be free to sign a pre-contract agreement in January, once his deal with Real runs into its final six months.
But in the meantime, there are some important points that still need to be agreed. Salary could be one of them;frne the composition of his back up staff could be another. And one that could well be a bone of contention — where will he be based?
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Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni lives in Spain, for emample, and there’s a certain logic behind this as it puts him closer to most of his players. Would Ancelotti be allowed to do the same, or would he be expected to spend much of his time in Brazil?
It’s true that there are months in which to sort out these detail, though that leads to another massive question: what happens to the Selecao in the meantime? A short term caretaker will have to take charge — certainly for six rounds of World Cup qualifiers later this year, probably for friendlies and for the preparation ahead of next year’s Copa America.
It is possible that Rodrigues had planned to keep going with Under-20 coach Ramon Menezes in temporary charge, but results led to a rethink. Under Menezes, Brazil were beaten by Morocco in March and then fell to Israel in the Under-20 World Cup. Last month, they lost 4-2 to Senegal. In the light of these results, Menezes became a difficult sell, and Rodrigues went in search of a name with more credibility.
