Brazil appoints Fernando Diniz as new interim head coach

Brazil appoints Fernando Diniz as new interim head coach

Brazil has begun the process of its 2026 World Cup qualification cycle by hiring Fluminense head coach Fernando Diniz to become their new interim head coach for one year until June 2024. After that, Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti will become the team’s full-time manager.

Diniz, who will make his coaching debut in the national team’s first qualifiers against Bolivia and Peru in September, is a few months removed from winning the 2023 Campeonato Carioca with Fluminense. He had the team win eight of their 11 matches, scoring 20 goals and conceding just four en route to the title.

He has been successful in transforming the club’s offense to becoming one of the best in Brazil. He currently has a record of 47 wins, 19 losses, and 15 draws since becoming the manager in April 2022. Fluminense scored 151 goals and conceded 77 for a positive goal difference of +74 with Diniz at the helm.

Even as Brazil’s interim coach, Diniz will continue to manage Fluminense full-time for this year’s Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A and Copa Libertadores.

Carlo Ancelotti to take over in 2024

Once the 2024 Copa America comes around in June, Brazil will officially have Carlo Ancelotti running the show.

Ancelotti has been regarded by many as one of the greatest managers of all time, recently winning the 2021-22 UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid after beating Liverpool 1-0 in the final.

While they were unable to win back-to-back Champions Leagues after losing to Manchester City 5-1 on aggregate in the semifinals, it does not take away the strong performances the club had this past year with Ancelotti at the helm.

His strong connection with both former and current Brazilian players gave him plenty of appeal and support to consider coaching the Selecao. He is currently coaching Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo, and Eder Militao at Real Madrid while getting the opportunity to have previously coached Richarlison at Everton, Thiago Silva at Paris Saint-Germain, David Luiz at Chelsea, and Kaka and Cafu at AC Milan among many others.

Ancelotti’s arrival indicates he has accomplished all he could at the club level and is now looking forward to embracing new challenges at the international level, and rightfully so. Four UEFA Champions League titles, four UEFA Super Cup titles, and three FIFA Club World Cup titles are among the many trophies he won throughout his time in Europe.

It also helps that he has experience coaching a national team, serving as an assistant coach for his home country Italy when they reached the World Cup final in 1994 before losing to Brazil in the iconic penalty shootout.

This will also present a new direction for Brazil. The last time they had a foreign coach manage their national team was Argentine Filpo Nunez for a friendly against Uruguay in September 1965. They never had a non-Brazilian coach lead them during a major tournament, much less a single World Cup qualifier, so having Ancelotti in charge will break this tradition in a year’s time.

After consecutive heartbreaking defeats at the quarterfinal stage of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups with Tite leading the way, Brazil will hope that this change in approach will result in them finally winning the trophy for the sixth time in 2026 and their first since 2002.