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Carlo Ancelotti has been Brazil manager for exactly 5 days. He’s already throwing shade at his former club.
The Italian legend didn’t mince words when explaining his vision for the Seleção – and it comes with a brutal reality check for Real Madrid’s 2025 disaster.
“My Brazil will play like Real Madrid, but not like Real Madrid this year, rather like Real Madrid last year,” Ancelotti told Marca with typical bluntness.
Translation? He’s copying the champions, not the chokers.
The Real Madrid Blueprint That Actually Worked
2024 was Real Madrid’s golden year. They swept up 5 major trophies and looked unstoppable doing it.
2025? Complete meltdown. Champions League quarterfinal exit. La Liga runners-up. A team that forgot how to win when it mattered.
Ancelotti witnessed both versions across his 4 seasons at the Bernabéu. Now he’s determined to bottle that 2024 magic for Brazil.
“The results were not as expected,” he admitted about Madrid’s collapse. “The team’s play wasn’t good either. It was bound to happen.”
That’s management speak for “I saw this coming a mile away.”
Brazil’s 22-Year World Cup Drought
The numbers tell a devastating story. Brazil hasn’t lifted the World Cup since 2002 – that’s 22 years of pain for the most successful nation in football history.
Their recent World Cup record reads like a horror story:
- 2006: Quarterfinal exit
- 2010: Quarterfinal exit
- 2014: 4th place (7-1 Germany nightmare)
- 2018: Quarterfinal exit
- 2022: Quarterfinal exit
Four quarterfinal flameouts in the last 5 tournaments. The pattern is obvious – Brazil bottle it when the pressure peaks.
The Ancelotti Difference
But Don Carlo isn’t your average international manager. His trophy cabinet tells the whole story: 3 Champions League titles with Madrid alone, plus 2 Club World Cups and 2 La Liga crowns from his two spells.
“Brazil has 5 stars on their shirts. No other national team can match them,” he declared. “Now I’ve got the challenge of winning the sixth.”
The confidence isn’t arrogance – it’s based on results.
Vinicius Jr Gets His Mentor Back
Here’s where it gets spicy. Ancelotti reunites with Vinicius Junior, the player he transformed from promising winger to Ballon d’Or contender at Madrid.
The Brazil squad is loaded with world-class talent: Raphinha, Casemiro, Alisson, Marquinhos. But Ancelotti knows talent alone won’t cut it.
“The players need to be humble and stick together. Without humility, there’s not much you can do.”
It’s a direct shot at Brazil’s ego-driven failures of the past.
The Humility Factor
This might be Ancelotti’s smartest move. Brazil has always had the best individuals – their problem has been playing as a team when tournaments heat up.
“The World Cup is different from any club title. It’s a feeling of having a country behind you,” he explained.
He gets it. International football isn’t about assembling superstars – it’s about creating a movement.
June Reality Check
The revolution starts immediately with 2 World Cup qualifiers:
- Ecuador away (June 5, 7pm ET)
- Paraguay home (June 10, 8:45pm ET)
These aren’t just games – they’re Ancelotti’s first chance to prove his “2024 Real Madrid” blueprint works in yellow and blue.
The Sixth Star Mission
“I’m here to make Brazil champions again, I accept that and I’m convinced we can do it,” Ancelotti stated with the kind of certainty that wins World Cups.
After 22 years in the wilderness, Brazil finally has a manager who knows exactly what winning looks like. The question isn’t whether Ancelotti can deliver – it’s whether Brazil is ready to follow his lead.
The 2026 World Cup suddenly looks a lot more interesting.
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