Brazil president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, better known as Lula, has questioned Carlo Ancelotti’s impending appointment as Brazil national team head coach.
Brazilian federation president Ednaldo Rodrigues said earlier this week that Ancelotti would take charge next summer after his contract with Real Madrid expires.
Previous coach Tite resigned after Brazil lost to Croatia in the 2022 World Cup quarterfinal.
Ancelotti has had massive success at the club level but has never taken charge of a national team before. Additionally, he’ll be the first foreign manager of the Seleção since 1964.
It seems those issues may have struck a chord with Brazil’s president, who suggested that Ancelotti may have been better off trying to fix his own national team’s problems.
“He was never coach of Italy. Why doesn’t he solve the problem of Italy, which didn’t even play in the last World Cup?” Lula asked in an interview with SBT News.
Lula, a Corinthians fan, added: “It’s very easy to lead a team in Europe with 11 national team players. It’s hard to get here and get [relegation-threatened] Corinthians. I want to see if Ancelotti would fix Corinthians. My Corinthians are suffering a lot.”
Lula also had praise for Fernando Diniz, who has been appointed Brazil’s interim manager on a one-year deal.
On Diniz, who will also keep his role with Fluminense, Lula said he has “personality, creativity and command of the locker room” and believes he “will make good use of” his opportunity.
Brazil has not won a World Cup since 2002, and Lula believes that the coach is not what’s holding the South American power back.
“The problem is that we don’t have the quality of players that we had in other times,” Lula said.
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