Lucas Leiva believes Carlo Ancelotti is the man to end Brazil’s long wait for a record-extending sixth World Cup crown.
Carlo Ancelotti has the “experience and quality” needed to help Brazil win their sixth World Cup, claims 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 enjoyed a highly successful association, winning a pair of Champions League titles in two spells with the club.
Brazil, meanwhile, are coming off a disappointing World Cup, losing on penalties to Croatia in the quarter-finals, ending their hopes of lifting the famous trophy for a record sixth time and leading to the resignation of head coach Tite.
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 for the next edition in 2026.
“It’s the first time a foreign manager has taken over a national team,” Lucas said. “It’s exciting because he’s a winner, he’s won everything, everywhere he’s gone, he’s been successful.
“We just hope he can bring his experience and qualities to the national team because we want to win the World Cup again.
“Now as a fan I will hope that Ancelotti will do a fantastic job because at the end of the day we want Brazil to win and if he can bring experience and quality and his knowledge of football to Brazil, not only to the national team but to the country, I think it will be fantastic.”
Ancelotti has won the title in all five of Europe’s major 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 won everywhere he went.
“I just hope he can bring all his qualities here. He’s experienced and has the talent to manage a national team like Brazil with so many players who haven’t won the last four or five World Cups.”
“If he is the right person, I think yes and I think he has shown in his career that he is capable of that. We could say many names here who could also be the right manager for the Brazil national team. But I think he is one of the managers who is able to bring new ideas and new things to the team.”