On Monday morning (March 25), Brazil’s national team began training at Real Madrid’s renowned facilities ahead of its friendly against Spain. The match is set for Tuesday (March 26) at 5:30 p.m. Brasília time (4:30 p.m. ET) at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
The visit amounts to a kind of “reunion” between the Brazilian team and coach Carlo Ancelotti. Ancelotti, who currently coaches Real Madrid, will run his team’s training session in the morning, while Brazil steps up its preparations in the afternoon.
In recent months, Brazil was caught up in a real “soap opera” involving Ancelotti, who was the Brazilian Football Confederation’s (CBF) top choice to take over the national team after Tite’s departure.
However, after lengthy negotiations and much uncertainty, Ancelotti ended up renewing his contract with Real Madrid on December 29 of last year, extending it through June 30, 2026, beyond his original deal that was set to expire at the end of the 2023/24 season.
Faced with the Italian coach’s final “no,” the CBF moved behind the scenes and made a series of changes, starting with the exit of interim coach Fernando Diniz, announced less than a week after Ancelotti’s renewal with Real Madrid.
Since then, there have been several moves in the CBF’s corridors. Here are the main ones:
The “Dorival Era”
With Carlo Ancelotti off the table, CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues turned his attention to the Brazilian market and signed Dorival Júnior, then coach of São Paulo.
Negotiations moved quickly, with Dorival accepting the invitation to lead the national team and leaving São Paulo in a tough spot.
On January 10, just five days after Fernando Diniz was fired, Dorival was announced as Brazil’s new head coach.
He takes over a team in crisis after a weak run in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying, with the main goal of turning the team around before the 2024 Copa América.
São Paulo, for its part, received the R$4.5 million (about $900,000) buyout fee and hired Thiago Carpini as his replacement.
New Front-Office Hires
Next, Ednaldo decided to make changes behind the scenes at the Confederation.
With several positions open, the CBF president recruited executives from some of the country’s top clubs.
The headline move was hiring Rodrigo Caetano, then at Atlético-MG, as the new director of men’s national teams, who arrived on February 16.
Ednaldo then secured Cícero Souza, Palmeiras’ soccer manager, as general technical manager of the men’s national teams, announced on March 5.
The Confederation also announced the arrival of Sérgio Dimas, formerly of Botafogo-SP, as the new supervisor of men’s national teams.
Dorival Shakes Up the Roster
With his first roster call-up, on March 1, Dorival Júnior made an immediate impact.
The coach surprised many by including several players from Brazilian clubs, such as Endrick and Murilo, both of Palmeiras, and Rafael of São Paulo.
He also brought back midfielder Lucas Paquetá, who had been left out due to betting-related investigations in England.
Dorival also had to deal with significant changes due to injuries among his call-ups. In a bold move, he called up players such as Flamengo’s Fabrício Bruno.
The new coach’s impact was immediate, as Brazil beat England 1-0 in his debut last Saturday (March 23) at Wembley Stadium.
Brazil’s Upcoming Games
Spain (away) – March 26, 5 p.m. Brasília time (4 p.m. ET) – Friendly
Mexico (away) – June 8, time TBD – Friendly
United States (away) – June 12, 8 p.m. Brasília time (7 p.m. ET) – Friendly
