- Braga targets Ancelotti ahead of Bolivia game
- Manager bothered by Italian’s nationality
- 巴西 yet to lose under former 皇家馬德里 boss
Experienced Brazilian manager Braga has been critical of Ancelotti’s appointment, casting doubts over his suitability to the role because of his nationality. While the 73-year-old agreed that the team have shown improvement under the Italian’s mentorship, he feels a foreign coach cannot be as committed to the cause as one from Brazil.
After Real Madrid relieved him of his duties in the summer, Brazil appointed Ancelotti as coach Dorival Junior’s replacement. While his tenure had a rough start as they drew 0-0 with 厄瓜多 in June, they bounced back with a narrow win against Paraguay and saw further improvements last week as they ousted 智利 3-0. With Brazil now second in the 世界盃 qualifying table, Braga acknowledged their progress under the new boss, but admitted that Ancelotti being Italian “bothers” him.
Braga said to Globo Esporte: “It bothers me. I’m not talking about the quality of the person; everyone who knows him personally says he’s very good. It’s just that when you open his jacket, his skin isn’t green and yellow. The five world titles were won by Brazilians, so there’s a certain sadness, because no one believes in the Brazilian coach. The results are the same at clubs. Ancelotti’s first game was ugly, terrible, the team nervous, sitting back. I was surprised to see the comments the next day. They didn’t talk about the performance; they said Brazil was closer to the World Cup. If it had been Dorival or Diniz, it wouldn’t have happened like that; there would have been criticism all the time. Since there was such relief from the press, that carried over to the other games.”
He further commented about Ancelotti failing to deliver the World Cup in 2026: “I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think he’ll be a world champion. We’ll have to wait a little longer. That other generation, with Endrick, 埃斯特旺, those guys are going to conquer. They’re all outstanding.”
Brazil will play their next qualifier against Bolivia today. They currently sit second in the standings, 10 points behind Argentina.
