FIFA WORLD CUP
Lucas: Ancelotti is the right man to deliver Brazil's sixth World Cup
Carlo Ancelotti has the "experience and quality" needed to help Brazil win their sixth World Cup, according to former Selecao midfielder Lucas Leiva.
Ancelotti is reportedly set to become Brazil's new head coach at the end of the 2023-24 season when his contract expires at Real Madrid, where he has enjoyed a hugely successful association, winning a pair of Champions League titles over two spells with the club.
Brazil, meanwhile, are coming off the back of a disappointing World Cup that saw them crash out on penalties to Croatia in the quarter-finals, ending their hopes of lifting the famous trophy for a record-extending sixth time and leading to head coach Tite resigning from his post.
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It has been 21 years since the Selecao last won the World Cup, but Lucas believes Ancelotti is the right appointment to bring international football's top prize back to Brazil at the next edition in 2026.
"It's the first time that a foreign manager takes over the national team," Lucas said. "It’s exciting because he's a winner, he’s won everything, wherever he went he was successful.
"We just hope that he can bring his experience and his qualities to the national team because we want to win the World Cup again.
"Now as a fan, I will be hoping that Ancelotti does a fantastic job, because at the end of the day, we want Brazil winning and if he can bring experience and quality and his knowledge about football to Brazil, not only the national team, but the country, I think it will be fantastic."
— Carlo Ancelotti (@MrAncelotti) July 20, 2023
Ancelotti has won the title in all five of the major European leagues, while no manager has as many Champions League trophies as his four.
It is this status as a serial winner that makes Lucas so confident in Ancelotti's ability to lead Brazil to glory again.
Lucas, who played 24 times for his national team between 2007 and 2013, explained: "If you look at his career, he's won everywhere he went.
"I just hope that he can bring all his qualities here. He's experienced and he has talent to manage a national team like Brazil with so many players who didn't win the last four or five World Cups.
"If he's the right person, I think so and I think he showed in his career that he is able to do that. We could say many names here that could also be the right manager for the national team of Brazil. But I think he is one of the managers that is capable of bringing new ideas and new things for the team."
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