As the lightning flashes pass, you’ll find it difficult to get to the top. A total universe of intrigue (and, let’s be honest, hilarity) opens up in the area of just 4 words. Say them out loud and you’ll be able to say it.
“Jose Mourinho: Brazil manager.”
You can believe that, can’t you? Mourinho goes out to the Maracanã, with the total position in the palm of his hand. A series of sarcastic and charming comments about Argentina. The golden honeymoon and the inevitable descent into hell. The Special and the Nation of Football: A Sports Fable for All Centuries.
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Speculation briefly bordered on the truth this week. Responding to a reporter in Italy, Mourinho said he did not know if the Brazilian federation had been in contact with his agent about the option of coaching the Seleçao. The company’s absence belied headlines from around the world.
The first thing to say here is that prior to this consultation, there was no indication that Mourinho was in the running for the position in Brazil. His call does not circulate in Brazil. There is an article in the sports segment of the popular online website Globo. That explains why it would be a sensible appointment, but it was published in 2014.
Still, such hypotheses – while unfounded – are inevitable given Brazil’s scenario in early 2024. A week ago, the news broke that Carlo Ancelotti, Valentino absent from the federation, had signed a new contract at Real Madrid. We will not return to the Seleçao next June as we had hoped.
To call it a setback would be to underestimate it by an order of magnitude. Brazil’s entire homework for the 2024 Copa America and the 2026 World Cup cycle is in the dust. It’s also a very bad picture: Brazil waited and waited for Ancelotti, sighing. For him as a lover in love, he used to be told that he was going to give his marriage another chance.
“Stratospherially embarrassing,” described Globo columnist Jessica Cescon. It is one of the highest measured ratings.
The fact that the federation itself is in the midst of one of its semi-annual collapses doesn’t help. President Ednaldo Rodrigues was removed from office in early December when a Rio de Janeiro court ruled that his election in 2022 was invalid. had set up a private meeting with Ancelotti, who hinted that the state of change could have influenced his decision to stay in Madrid.
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Rodrigues has now returned, reinstated through Brazil’s Minister of Justice, fearing FIFA will allow his temporary replacement to enter the Selecao squad for soccer’s Olympic qualifying tournament. He is unlikely to stay there for long (new elections are looming), but he is committed to stepping up. The search for a full-time coach for the senior men’s national team.
In this context, Mourinho could have some appeal. Above all, it’s a great name. Naming it would distract attention from the chaos around it. It’s the kind of figurehead that enthusiasts and gamers can get behind, even if it’s only in the short term.
At first glance, this would seem like an awkward solution in terms of taste and philosophy. But it’s worth remembering that Brazil has been willing to sacrifice good looks for the sake of results. Think back to 1994, when Carlos Alberto Parreira ran a profoundly prosaic campaign. The Seleçao to success at the World Cup. ” Fantasy, magic, dreams and entertainment are dead in football,” said Parreira after the level of organization of this tournament. “The important thing now is to be competent. “
That’s not to say Mourinho would be a universally popular coach for the Seleçao. But the broader symbol of Brazil as a country of joyful and spontaneous football tends to make it difficult to understand the deep vein of conservatism that lurks beneath the surface. After all, there’s nothing bigger than winning.
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No, the biggest impediment will probably be the feeling of unease generated by the jokes with Ancelotti. Rodrigues took risks, ignoring predictable complaints about the appointment of a foreign manager. Now that he’s been fired, it would be brave – even foolhardy – to look for another coach hired in Europe. The bruised national ego desires time to heal.
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Life would be a lot less difficult for all concerned if the current interim coach, Fernando Diniz, had taken over after taking over in July. It would be undeniable that they would give him a permanent contract, even if it meant making some enemies at Fluminense. whom he continues to manage at club level. But the effects and performances were so mediocre that even Diniz’s cheerleaders were silent.
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Instead, Rodrigues is said to have a fondness for Dorival Junior, the Sao Paulo coach. It would be a sensible choice (Dorival enjoys a lot and won the Copa Libertadores with Flamengo in 2022), but not exactly exciting.
The same guy who pleaded with Ancelotti to turn down Brazil’s assignment (“Only an idiot leaves Madrid,” he said in November) is now at it.
It’s unlikely that we’ll be able to go any further, but we can dream.
(Top photo: Antonietta Baldassarre/Insidefoto/LightRocket Getty Images)