Carlo Ancelotti will become the manager of Brazil the day after Real Madrid’s final game of the season and he has hinted that he is unhappy with the way the job switch was communicated
Carlo Ancelotti has hinted that he is already unhappy with his soon-to-be employers after it was confirmed that he will leave Real Madrid for Brazil this summer. The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) announced on Monday that Ancelotti will take over as the country’s manager straight after Real’s final game of the season, but the timing of the communication has irritated the man himself.
The Italian will become the first foreigner to take sole charge of the Brazilian national team since 1925 in a move that has long been rumoured. He will switch roles on May 26, the day after Real take on Real Sociedad in their final match of the season.
It is a prestigious role for the 65-year-old, who has won 15 trophies, including three Champions League titles, with Real over two spells. But the seven-point gap to La Liga leaders Barcelona with three games left and the perhaps premature announcement of his departure has left Ancelotti a little uneasy.
“If I didn’t have this news conference today it would have been a fantastic day,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday ahead of Real’s match against Mallorca on Wednesday night.
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“But in this news conference I have to explain things that I don’t want to explain. Until the 25th, I wear the Real Madrid shirt, which I respect very much.”
The CBF’s statement about the appointment thanked Real and their president Florentino Perez “for the cordiality and sportsmanship shown in facilitating the coach’s release”. Yet Ancelotti clearly wants to stay focused on the task at hand for the time being, so as not to upset Real.
“From 26 May onwards, I’ll be Brazil’s coach. It’s a very important challenge, but I want to finish the final stretch of this fantastic adventure here well,” he added. “I never had problems with Real and never will have problems with Real. It’s a club that lives dearly in my heart, but everything in life has a date to end.
“I couldn’t be Madrid coach for the rest of my life. It comes to an end for many reasons. The club may need a new impetus. I’m not making a big deal out of it. A thousand thanks to this club. And we’ll carry on. I’ll always be a Madrid fan. It’s the end of an era. Spectacular. I never thought I’d coach Madrid for six years, and now it’s happened.”
Ancelotti will be replaced by Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso, who is poised to join the side he previously represented as a player, although Real are yet to make any formal announcement.
“Real Madrid will release the statement when they want. There’s no problem whatsoever,” said Ancelotti. “They’ll do it at the appropriate time for Real Madrid and there’s nothing further to add.”
Reflecting on his time at the club, he said: “I always kept in mind that one day it ends. I’ve had a great time, and I think everyone has, but there comes a time when it ends. Football is like life, something begins and ends.
“I’ve had a great time. We’ve won a lot and it will be a memory for life. The day I arrived [for the second time], if they told me I’d win 11 titles in four years, I’d sign it with my own blood. It’s been an unforgettable time.”
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