Ancelotti: I will give everything I have to Brazil

In the early morning of May 26, 2025, Carlo Ancelotti landed at the Galio Airport in Rio de Janeiro, starting his latest challenge in his career - leading the Brazilian national team.

When he arrived at the hotel, the atmosphere was filled with the scene. Dozens of Brazilian fans await the coach responsible for ending the country’s 24-year World Cup drought. "Welcome Ancelotti, you are that man!", the placard in their hands read.

The 65-year-old Italian won almost all the championships in football but has never coached the national team before. More importantly, FIFA World Cup™ has never won a country without a local coach.

With all this in mind, it's only over a year before the 26™ FIFA World Cup starts, and the sooner Ancelotti adapts, the better. The Brazilians have been doing their part, starting with a new nickname, "Ancelotti" became "Ancelotti" in Rio de Janeiro.

"My first impression was really cute," Ancelotti said at his official launch. "It's an honor and I'm proud to take over the best national team in the world. I have a tough task before me and people have high hopes that Brazil will be the champion again. We will do it together and we need all of you. I have always had a special connection with this country. The welcome I received yesterday and today is special. I will try to repay it by giving everything I have.

This affectionate nickname is just part of a collective effort to make Italians feel at home. Before he announced his roster of his team, Brazil's history announced in another language for the first time, a video was played that included iconic athletes in Brazil's sports world. Stars such as Zico, Paul Roberto Falcao, Kaka and Rivellino were all on the scene to welcome the coach to the country with open arms and Seleção.

"The most successful national team in the world is now helmed by the most successful coach in Europe," Falcao said. Rivellino then added: "Ancelotti, I really hope, I hope from the bottom of my heart that you have put Brazil on the right track! A message recorded by Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parela during the 1994 FIFA World Cup™ championship was dedicated to a special moment. In that game, Ancelotti was the assistant coach of Italian head coach Arigo Saki, whose team lost the game in the finals.

"We are very happy that you accepted the invitation from the CBF to take charge of our Brazil," Parreira said excitedly. "One of the most famous teams in the world is now managed by one of the greatest coaches in global football history. May you bring us the sixth World Cup championship that we have long been waiting for. We wish you success in the world and you can always trust us. After the message from Parela, another former Brazilian World Cup champion coach Luis Felipe Scolari gave his blessing. He was present to give Ancelotti a classic Brazilian coach jacket and personally wish the Italians good luck. "I'm glad, happy to be with you," he said. "We wish you all the best." Be yourself and be what you have always been. No matter what happens, we will always be with you. Wish our Brazil all the best.

At the press conference after he first announced the roster, all the answers were given in Spanish, the language Ancelotti spoke the most in his last four years as a coach at Real Madrid. He even promised to try to speak Portuguese the next team announced, but it felt more like a global event. The rooms are scattered with translators, which house media professionals from all over the world.

At a packed press conference, he received more than 500 certification applications, where he answered questions from journalists from Italy, Germany and even Japan. Brazilian journalists were eager to reassure Ancelotti, and they took the risk of studying Spanish and even Italian.

After his answer, Ancelotti made it clear that he had been waiting for this moment. The coach admitted that negotiations to work in Brazil began more than two years ago and then stalled after his contract extension with Real Madrid before reigniting it in 2025.

"My connection with Brazil began very early, in the 1980s, with Tonionho Cerrezo, Falcao, and over the years, I worked with 34 Brazilian players," he recalled. Ancelotti has had a lot of success in coaching Brazilian players at the club, but now he has a brand new task. It will be a long road for Brazil and their new coaches to truly speak the same language, but the first step has begun.

"I think we're very similar," he said. "Most Italians don't have a happy spirit, but I have. I like the attitude of the Brazilian people and we feel at home. It will help us to play to the best of ourselves here. It's a heavy responsibility job, but what a wonderful challenge. We are coaching Brazil, which means a lot to us.