Ancelotti pledges to make struggling Brazil 'world champions again'
Carlo Ancelotti on Monday ruled injury-plagued Neymar out from Brazil's line-up for upcoming World Cup qualifiers and vowed to lead the team to a sixth title on his first day as Selecao coach.
Former Real Madrid manager Ancelotti is the first non-Brazilian in six decades to coach the record five-time World Cup winners.
"I'm very proud to lead the best team in the world. I have a big job ahead of me and have great hope that Brazil will become champions again," he said during his official presentation at a hotel in Rio de Janeiro.
"The only goal is to win the 2026 World Cup," he said after receiving a green-and-yellow coach's jacket from Luiz Felipe Scolari, the manager who took Brazil to its last World Cup win in 2002.
At 65, the Italian star manager, who has five Champions League titles under his belt, is taking the reins of a national team for the first time.
Expectations are high in football-mad Brazil that he can revive the squad's fortunes.
To that end, he announced the return of Manchester United midfielder and former Brazil captain Casemiro for June's qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay, alongside Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr and Barcelona winger Raphinha.
Ancelotti is Brazil's fourth coach in two years, and he faces a formidable task.
"Brazil was sort of decaying and needed that little light at the end of the tunnel. I think he is that light," said Jose Geraldo Da Silva, a 65-year-old retiree, who was waiting outside the Rio hotel to try catch a glimpse of the new trainer.
Brazil has struggled for form in 2026 World Cup qualifying and sacked Dorival Junior in March after a humiliating 4-1 thrashing by regional arch-rivals Argentina.
Ancelotti will cut his teeth on June 5 against Ecuador in Guayaquil and then on the 10th will host Paraguay in Sao Paulo.
While ruling out Neymar for the fixtures, Ancelotti said that "obviously we're counting on him" for the future.
In his last game for Brazil in October 2023, which ended in a 2-0 defeat to Uruguay, Neymar suffered a serious knee injury and has not worn his country's colors since then.
Casemiro, 33, who has also not been called up since October 2023, did receive the nod to return, by contrast.
Speaking in Spanish peppered with a few words of Portuguese, which he promised to quickly learn, Ancelotti said Casemiro would bring "charisma, personality and talent."
New wunderkind Estevao, 18, who is set to join Chelsea from Sao Paulo's Palmeiras, was also called up.
But injured Real Madrid forwards Rodrygo and Endrick did not make the list.
Brazil is currently languishing in fourth place in the South American qualifying table for next year's tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The national football federation (CBF) spent two years wooing Ancelotti to try turn the page on years of disappointment for the national side and its fans.
The Selecao have only made it as far as the World Cup semi-final once out of the last five tournaments -- in 2014 against Germany, who gave the World Cup hosts an historic 7-1 thrashing on home soil.
Ancelotti's arrival also coincides with a period of turbulence for the CBF itself.
On Sunday, it elected a new president, Samir Xaud, after the previous boss, Ednaldo Rodrigues was dismissed by a court over suspicions of forgery in his employment contract.
"May Christ the Redeemer (Rio's landmark monument) bless the arrival of our Mr Carlo Ancelotti, so that he can secure... a highly coveted sixth world title," Xaud said by way of welcome to Ancelotti, to whom he vowed "total autonomy."
Ancelotti's new role comes with a pay package of around 10 million euros ($11.4 million) a year, according to local media.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
33 minutes ago
- Khaleej Times
Netflix password at risk? New report says millions of accounts hacked
When was the last time you changed your Netflix account password or replaced your credentials for Disney+ or Amazon Prime video? Perhaps it is time to revisit the privacy's page to make these changes. In a recent report, Kaspersky, the global cybersecurity and anti-virus company, said that it identified over seven million compromised accounts belonging to various popular streaming services. "These weren't stolen directly from the platforms themselves but were collected as part of broader credential theft campaign s," the company clarified though. The Moscow-based company's Digital Footprint Intelligence team uncovered a total of 7,035,236 breaching cases in 2024. Among those there are 5,632,694 compromised Netflix accounts. Brazil had the highest number of exposed Netflix credentials, followed by Mexico and India, the report went on to say. Netflix Mena did not immediately respond to requests for comment when contacted by Khaleej Times. As of December 2024, Netflix had approximately three million subscribers in the Middle East and North Africa region. As for Disney+, experts detected 680,850 Disney+ accounts in leaked datasets and Brazil again topped the list of affected countries, followed by Mexico and Germany. Subscribers of Amazon Prime Video also fell victim to this hacking scheme, though smaller in volume with 1,607 compromised accounts. The top three countries with compromised accounts on the streaming service were Mexico, Brazil, and France. "As streaming platforms, fandom culture, and social media become deeply woven into Gen-Z's everyday experience, cyberthreats are adapting to target the spaces they trust most", Kaspersky said. Kaspersky safety tips If you feel your account has been compromised, change passwords for the potentially compromised credentials and ensure there has been no suspicious activity associated with these accounts. Always use a legitimate, paid subscription when accessing streaming services and ensure you're using apps from official marketplaces or the official websites. Stick to trusted, official pages when watching or downloading content and double-check URLs and company name spellings to avoid phishing sites. Be cautious about the file extensions you're downloading. Video files should not have .exe or .msi extensions — these are typically associated with harmful programs.
Zawya
17 hours ago
- Zawya
Government of Guyana and Afreximbank highlight opportunities under the US$1-billion oil financing facility
The Cooperative Republic of Guyana and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) ( have concluded a two-day roadshow to promote access to a US$1-billion oil services financing facility announced by the Bank in February this year during the Guyana Energy Conference. The roadshow which was held from 21 to 22 May in Georgetown, Guyana, brought together players in the oil and gas sector, finance sector and the government circles as it sought to encourage local participation in Guyana's rapidly growing oil and gas sector. Themed Empowering local content participation for sustainable prosperity through the implementation of Afreximbank mandate, it highlighted the nexus of Afreximbank's mandate in the promotion of local participation in Global Africa and indeed in Guyana. Guyana's economy has been growing rapidly and is expected to record a GDP growth rate of 14 per cent in the next five years [1], supported primarily by the expanded activities in the oil and gas sector and other non-oil sectors. Driven by the growth prospects, the Government of Guyana introduced a Local Content Act in 2021 to optimize economic gains from the oil and gas industry by strengthening the local value chain and prioritizing the use of domestic labor, goods, and services. The policy is built on the pillars of local resource utilisation, capacity building, value retention, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and operational efficiency. Several Guyanese companies, including business intermediaries, SMEs, and financial institutions, attended the Roadshow, engaging directly with the Bank on its strategic support for Guyana's transformative development journey. Other notable persons participating in the event included Ms. Kathy S. Smith, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry and newly elected vice-Chairperson of the Private Sector Commission and Ms. Nafeeza Gaffoor, the Chairperson of the Guyana Association of Bankers. The Bank introduced a comprehensive suite of solutions, including funded products (loans and credits), non-funded instruments (letters of credit and guarantees), and key trade facilitation tools such as the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) and the Afreximbank Trade Payment Services and Facilitation Programme. These offerings—alongside treasury and settlement services—are tailored to deploy the new financing facility effectively and catalyse greater private sector participation in high-growth sectors like oil and gas. The two-day roadshow concluded with the identification of immediate projects and interventions for the Bank in Guyana. These include capacity building programmes, development of select national infrastructure projects and support to intermediaries in the oil and gas value chain. Speaking at the roadshow, Dr. Ashni Singh, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and the Public Service, expressed appreciation to the Afreximbank leadership, on behalf of the Government of Guyana, for establishing the oil service financing facility and for hosting the successful roadshow. He encouraged the Bank to work closely with the private sector in Guyana to facilitate transactions. 'There is a deep and profound historic tie between Africa and the Caribbean, a tie that is rooted first and foremost in our people and our culture. But there are also remarkable economic opportunities between us that have remained untapped and under tapped for far too long. We need, in this generation, to move the relationship beyond historic, cultural, and emotional ties, and now capitalize and leverage resources to realize the vast economic and commercial opportunities that exist between our economies. I therefore urge you, members of the business community in Guyana to interrogate and analyze the products offered by the Bank in detail to fully understand their potential and benefits, and to take advantage of the opportunities they can unlock.' added Honorable Dr. Singh. In his remarks, Mr. Okechukwu Ihejirika, Afreximbank's Acting Regional Chief Operating Officer for the Caribbean said: 'Our US$ 1-billion oil servicing finance facility for local content players in Guyana is not just a promise; it is an initiative we intend to fully implement. Through it, we will empower local Guyanese businesses to participate in the transformative opportunities available in the Oil&Gas sector. We are therefore here to listen, to engage, and to chart a path towards sustainable and shared prosperity.' Mr. Iherjirika said that it was imperative that local businesses also benefit from Guyana's oil wealth. [1] Afreximbank Research Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank. Media Contact: Vincent Musumba Communications and Events Manager (Media Relations) Email: press@ Follow us on: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Instagram About Afreximbank: African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade. For over 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa's trade, accelerating industrialisation and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank has set up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2024, Afreximbank's total assets and contingencies stood at over US$40.1 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$7.2 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody's (Baa1), China Chengxin International Credit Rating Co., Ltd (CCXI) (AAA), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its equity impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (together, 'the Group'). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt. For more information, visit:
Khaleej Times
a day ago
- Khaleej Times
Brazil declared free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination, says Abrafrigo
The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has recognised Brazil as a country free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination, Brazilian beef lobby Abrafrigo said in a statement on Thursday. Brazil is the world's top beef exporter and the certificate could contribute to opening new markets. This is the first time that the country has achieved this level of excellence in its sanitary controls, according to Abrafrigo. The lobby, which represents some of the largest Brazilian meatpackers such as Marfrig, said the recognition was a "historic moment for the beef agro-industrial chain." "The new status also brings new challenges and responsibilities for all actors involved, with the aim of maintaining the herd in adequate sanitary conditions and increasingly strengthening the country's role as a major producer and supplier of animal-origin food for Brazil and the world," it added.
