Ancelotti, the current head coach of Brazil, was interviewed exclusively by The Rest Is Football. The interviewer was Lineker, and they had a candid and extensive conversation.
For you, was moving into the coaching role a very natural progression? Did you think about that at the time?
Yes, for me, this is a very natural continuation. Another reason is that when Sacchi left Milan to coach the national team in 1991, he said to me, "When you retire, I hope you will become my assistant coach."
So the next year I decided to retire and go to the national team as his assistant. In the national team, we prepared for the 1994 World Cup together and finally made it to the final against Brazil. I must say that these three years with Sacchi were very important to me because I learned a lot from him. To be honest, in my opinion, Sacchi is a very outstanding teacher.
Back then, as Arrigo Sacchi's assistant, you were the "number two" of the Italian national team. The team reached the World Cup final, losing to the very country you now coach - Brazil. Who could have imagined that things would turn out this way one day?
It's truly incredible, really unbelievable. That was an amazing experience, and we often talk about it. That Brazilian team wasn't the most explosively talented national team, of course they had their geniuses, with Romário and Bebeto up front, but I think their championship win that time was built on very tough defense, relying on a very strong backline, plus the support from midfield.
Your current Brazil team may also have to do the same thing.
I'm sure that defense will be the key to the success of the World Cup. Because Brazil always has very good talent and very good technique. And in modern football, you have to add a tough attitude on the defensive end on top of this talent and technique.
To be honest, this might not be something you should say, but I can say that the current Brazilian team actually doesn't have that many superstars anymore. We do have Vinícius, but it's not like many previous Brazilian teams, where the field was filled with superstars.
Now there are many highly skilled players all over the world. There are good players everywhere, and my way of working has also changed. We now conduct a great deal of scouting and focus on Brazilian players. Brazilian players are spread all over the world, with many in the Premier League, and some in Spain, France, Russia, and of course, there are also many in Brazil itself.
So, among the players in this national team with quality, I can also affirm that Brazilian players will always have quality, because in my opinion, it's written in their genes. Brazilian players are born with a lot of talent.
Yeah, they live for football, right? Leading Brazil to the World Cup must be really exciting and special, right?
It was truly special, very special. I was also very happy. I felt that leaving Real Madrid at that time was the right moment. Clearly, Real Madrid has always been in my heart, but preparing for the World Cup for Brazil was a huge motivation, especially considering that Brazil last won the World Cup in 2002. We will surely compete for the championship. Based on the squad situation I've seen here in the past few months, I'm very satisfied. I must say that the atmosphere in the club and the national team is different.
What is the biggest difference?
The difference is that in a club, it is much more difficult to build good relationships within the team because players come from different countries, speak different languages, and have different cultures. In the national team, the language is unified, everyone speaks Portuguese, and the culture is the same. So it is much easier to build good relationships among them.
What about the expectations of Brazilian fans? They have very high demands on the national team, which surely brings a great deal of pressure, right?
My thought before I came was that Brazilian fans wanted to see beautiful football. But the reality is not like that; what they want is victory. For me, this is not "lucky". Instead of saying you should build a team that plays beautifully, it's better to say you should first build a team that can win. Brazilian fans are very passionate about the national team, but what they want is to win. They want to reclaim the championship and have a stable, competitive team.