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THE REAL DEAL
The greatest trick Carlo Ancelotti ever pulled was raising one eyebrow at 45 degrees. Ancelotti’s left eyebrow has become a symbol of his management style: easy-going, slightly rakish, the Jeffrey Lebowski. It’s in total contrast to the hyperactive supercoaches who dream of chalkboards and third-man runs. Even when he’s facing the sack or when his team are losing 5-1 on aggregate, Ancelotti is doubtlessly dreaming of cigars and opera. But Ol’ Man Carlo must know something because he just keeps rolling on. The next stop is Brazil. Well, OK, Europe because that’s where Brazil play most of their games these days, but you get the point: DON CARLO X SELEÇÃO!
“This landmark moment sees the coming together of two icons – the only five-time Fifa World Cup champions and a coach with an unmatched record across Europe’s elite competitions,” read a Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF) statement. “The CBF extends its sincere gratitude to Real Madrid and Mr [Florentino] Pérez for the cordiality and sportsmanship shown in facilitating the coach’s release during his contract term,” it continued, which is either a hopeless misreading of Pérez’s hiring-and-firing instincts or deadpan comic genius to rival Bob Mortimer on Last One Laughing.
Ancelotti will start his new job on Monday 26 May. The calendar has been kind to the CBF; had Monday been 25 May, it would have been the 20th anniversary of Istanbul, a night on which Carlo’s eyebrow reached a record 84 degrees elevation when Jerzy Dudek somehow saved Andriy Shevchenko’s shot from a yard out. For now, Ancelotti is jumping through the necessary hoops. “I have great respect for [Real Madrid] and these fans and I’m totally focused on finishing the last part of this spectacular adventure,” he said, idly watching the 2024-25 season swirl down the swanny. “Beginning on May 26 I will start coaching Brazil, which will be a great challenge personally.”
He has a headstart by virtue of his relationship with Rodrygo, Éder Militão, Endrick and especially Vinícius Jr, whose productivity quadrupled the moment Ancelotti returned to Madrid in 2021. Brazil have been so disappointing in recent tournaments – they’ve reached only one semi-final since they last won the World Cup in 2002, and it’s fair to say that wasn’t a source of pride – that the job is almost a free hit.
Ancelotti will be the first non-Brazilian to coach the team since 1925. In the modern era none of the great football nations have countenanced appointing a foreign manager. If Ancelotti succeeds he will probably change the culture of world football – and given it’s only four years since he was Everton manager, can you blame us for daydreaming about Argentina’s 2030 World Cup campaign being driven by Sean Dyche? Ancelotti has already won five Big/Bigger Cups, three Club World Cups and six domestic titles across five countries. If he adds the World Cup – with Brazil, after a 24-year wait – he’ll surely go down as the greatest football manager of all time. And if he fails completely, he’ll still be dreaming of cigars and opera. Life is short and Carlo’s winning.
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Join Niall McVeigh from 8pm BST for hot Championship playoff semi-final minute-by-minute coverage of Sunderland 2-2 Frank Lampard’s Coventry (agg: 4-3).
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“He’s with us all the way. His shirt’s up in every changing room, home and away. We reference him all the time, and we should do because of his career, his journey. His journey before us, his journey with us, was amazing … so, he’s with us, and he would have enjoyed that performance” – Chris Wilder takes a moment to remember his former player George Baldock, who died in October at the age of 31, after Sheffield United secured their place in the Championship playoff final with a 6-0 aggregate victory over Bristol City.
Having read Ken Muir’s idea for Newcastle to use a QR code for a logo (yesterday’s Football Daily letters), it strikes me that this is less than an ideal plan, given that their home shirt is already a barcode. What next, using RFID chips implanted into every shirt?” – Nick Jeffery (and 1,056 others).
At least Dave Challinor’s Stockport crew had the chance to recover from the ridiculous decision in their playoff first leg (yesterday’s News, Bits and Bobs – full email edition). Allow me to present the FAI Cup final from 2003, as Longford Town, leading 1-0, break away following an injury-time corner for St Patrick’s Athletic (about 10 minutes into the linked video). It doesn’t look wrong, but the St Pat’s keeper had gone up for the corner, meaning that the pictured defender is the last man, putting the Longford player a good five yards offside. He went on to score and secure a 2-0 win for Longford. From memory, nobody at all reacted, suggesting that not only the players and staff, but the match officials weren’t fully up on the offside law” – Mike Slattery.
The implication, in Football Daily and elsewhere, that Liverpool fans who booed Trent Alexander Arnold were hypocritical by virtue of the fact they also sing You’ll Never Walk Alone at every opportunity struck me as odd. As far as I recall it’s a song intended to remind someone at their lowest ebb that someone else has their back. I don’t remember the verse that claims this is still the case even if you take advantage of a situation in order to get what you want, while at the same time turning your back on those who nurtured, supported and lavishly rewarded you. Or maybe that’s in Carousel: The Director’s Cut” – Dave Evans.
Re Trent: if you love him, let him go 🕊️🕊️🕊️” – Mark Gillett.
Send letters to [email protected]. Today’s letter o’ the day winner is … Mike Slattery, who lands some official Football Weekly merch. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, can be viewed here.
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