Carlo Ancelotti was entering unknown territory.
Despite having previously worked with 43 Brazilian players throughout his coaching career, the Italian manager had been in the South American country just once before – back in the early 2000s on a scouting mission as Juventus boss.
So when, after much back and forth, he reached an agreement in May 2025 to lead Brazil as their first ever foreign coach at a World Cup, he knew he had to hit the ground running.
And so he did.
At one of his initial meetings in Rio de Janeiro, Ancelotti noticed plenty of the local staff at the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) trying to speak Spanish and even Italian to him.
“No, no,” he reacted with a smile on his face.
“I’m the one who has to make the effort to speak Portuguese here.”
The 66-year-old was aware that if he were to win over a fanbase that takes a lot of pride in the Selecao and has always considered itself to be self-sufficient in football, he needed to do that.
Such was his focus that he hired a Portuguese teacher and committed to four lessons a week.
“I was surprised by his commitment,” Roberto Piantino, who has been working with him on his Portuguese, told BBC Sport.
“I remember once we finished a lesson on a Friday and, as usual, I asked him when he wanted to do the next one. He said: ‘Tomorrow.’ But that was a Saturday. I said: ‘Of course, no problem.’ That meant 9am in Vancouver [where Ancelotti lives with his wife].
“It happened more than once. That showed me how serious he really was about learning.”
Sunday’s 6-2 drubbing of Panama in their penultimate match before the World Cup kicks off was encouraging.
Bournemouth’s Rayan scored his first goal for his country, Brentford’s Igor Thiago was on target, while Vinicius Jr, Casemiro and Lucas Paqueta and Danilo also hit the net.
Ancelotti will need every tool available to him though – Portuguese included – for the size of the challenge ahead this summer: preventing Brazil from setting an unwanted record.
The five-time champions last won the World Cup in 2002 and have never gone six editions without lifting the trophy.
There’s a strong case, however, that the former Real Madrid and Chelsea coach is the right man for the job.
“One of the things Brazil needed the most was a manager bigger than the players,” former international Walter Casagrande, now a respected football pundit, argued.
Ancelotti ticks that box: a record five Champions League titles and trophies in all five of Europe’s major leagues carry real weight, even in a dressing room featuring Neymar, Vinicius Jr, Raphinha and co.
