Brazil’s forward Vinicius Junior (C) is marked by Morocco’s midfielder Sofyan Amrabat (L) and … [+] Morocco’s defender Nayef Aguerd during a friendly football match between Morocco and Brazil at the Ibn Batouta Stadium in Tangier on March 26, 2023. (Photo by Fadel Senna / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)
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Brazil is the ‘futebol nation’ and talk of a sixth star is never far away. It’s the legacy of the Seleção’s golden epoch in the 50s and 60s when it won the World Cup three times, often in glorious fashion, dancing its way past opponents with the dribbles of Garrincha and the speed of Jairzinho. Brazil became synonymous with the beautiful game and Pelé the greatest, but in the past two decades, Brazil’s position as the leading soccer nation has become fragile.
Last December, Croatia eliminated the South Americans in the last eight of the World Cup, the fifth consecutive time that Brazil fell to European opposition on the biggest stage. Normally, it’s the cue for a crisis, a new Brazilian coach, and reinforcements in the midfield, but not this time. Brazil is in limbo, with Ramon Menezes managing the team on an interim basis.
The team was even the underdog in Saturday’s friendly with World Cup semi-finalists Morocco. With a lot of new faces in the squad, the Brazilians were predictably underwhelming. In party mode after their historic run to the semi-finals of the World Cup and a fourth-place finish, host Morocco claimed a famous 2-1 in Tangier. Eight players from the last-four encounter against France featured, while Brazil had just Casemiro, Lucas Paqueta, Vinicius Jr., and Eder Militao from that doomed evening in Doha in their starting XI.
The result was largely academic: Morocco’s victory parade continued, reaffirming their status as Africa’s strongest team ahead of next year’s continental championship while there were a few bright performances for Brazil, notably from debutant Rony of Palmeiras on the right.
In the absence of the injured Neymar, the spotlight shone on Vinicius Jr., but he delivered only in glimpses and faded badly after the pause. However, the Real Madrid star might have to get used to the protagonism in the Brazil shirt. Injury-prone, Neymar is approaching the twilight of his career and it is questionable whether he can lead Brazil at the World Cup in 2026 when he will be 34.
With his stellar performances at Real Madrid, including that winning goal in last season’s Champions League final against Liverpool, Vinicius Jr. has become the face of Brazilian soccer. Tite didn’t always favor him and substituted the youngster in the second half against Croatia. After crossing the Atlantic as a teenager, it also took time for Vinicius Jr. to make his mark at Real Madrid, but he has been flourishing under Carlo Ancelotti, the manager top of the shortlist of the Brazilian FA, CBF, to succeed Tite.
His appointment would be revolutionary – Brazil has never had a foreign manager in command. Before the World Cup, a Datafolha survey found that 55% of Brazilians were against the idea but after the elimination by Croatia the CBF and its new president Ednaldo Rodrigues became intent on breaking with tradition.
The field of competent coaches in Brazil is very small. In fact, it is hard to find Brazilian coaches in South America, let alone in Europe, reflecting perhaps the paucity of ideas that they bring to the game. Now, they are also losing space at home following Jorge Jesus’ success with Flamengo in 2019. Currently at Fenerbahçe in Turkey, the Portuguese is second on the CBF’s shortlist.
However, cultural resistance is significant to a foreigner. Ultimately, the Seleção remains a national symbol. It remains a taboo and so Rodrigues, a novice in the role, has a crucial decision to take as the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup draw near: will he do what has never been done and trust a man born outside of Brazil’s borders or run the risk that the next Luka Modric eliminates Brazil again from the World Cup? Ancelotti is an elderly statesman in the game, but he is a pragmatist who goes from role to role to form winning teams. He is not a man of grand ideas or expansive philosophies. In that sense, he could be the wrong man for Brazil.
Rodrigues however can’t dawdle too long, his CBF is disorganized without a sporting director and an agency to organize friendlies. In September, the Brazilians kick off the World Cup qualifiers against Bolivia. By then, they need a coach for Vinicius Jr. and his generation to thrive on the road to the 2026 World Cup and the dream of a sixth star.
