Vinicius Jr.’s rise: from frustration with Tite to national team star under Ancelotti
On the eve of the World Cup, in April 2022, the then coach of the Brazilian team, Tite, looked for a strategy to improve the performance of a young talent in his squad. In an unusual move, he consulted a professional colleague to optimize Vinicius Jr’s performance.
“I asked Ancelotti for advice to help [Vini Jr.] play like he did in Madrid,” the Brazilian coach told Marca newspaper. The conversation focused on offensive tactics that would grant greater creative freedom to the player, demonstrating the intention of both coaches to extract the best potential from the athlete.
However, Tite was unable to fully implement the teachings. Vinicius Jr. played as a starter throughout the World Cup, but was substituted at the crucial moment of extra time against Croatia. A few years later, Carlo Ancelotti himself would have the opportunity to witness the star’s full evolution.
When taking over the Brazilian team in May 2025, Carlo Ancelotti found Vinicius Jr. with modest numbers, scoring just six goals in 39 matches for the national team. In about a year, the Italian coach managed to polish the attacker, revealing his best version.
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Under Ancelotti’s guidance, Vinicius Jr. has scored seven goals in 13 games for the Seleção, surpassing the total goals he had scored under all previous coaches combined. This impact was already visible at Real Madrid, where, before the Italian’s arrival, the player was seen as a winger with limited effectiveness, and later accumulated 90 goals in 198 games.
“It’s gratifying, because I had no doubts about how he could reach this World Cup,” declared Ancelotti. The commander also praised the player’s performance with the Seleção shirt and highlighted a header “very rare for him”, classifying Vini as “one of the best in the world”, after the 3-0 victory over Scotland.
Vinicius Jr.’s campaign in the current World Cup has been spectacular. He left his mark in the three group stage games, a notable feat that, in the history of the Brazilian World Cup squad, had only been achieved by Preguinho (1930), Didi (1954), Jairzinho (1970), Romário (1994) and the duo Ronaldo and Rivaldo (2002).
This rise is also the result of a tactical adaptation in the position on the field. Ancelotti transformed Vini Jr. from a traditional left winger into a striker with wide freedom of movement, often playing centrally, where his performance has been highly positive.
“He’s in excellent condition. I believe the team allows him to rest when we don’t have the ball. He doesn’t need to wear out too much without the ball, which keeps him fresher when we have it,” explained Ancelotti, recognized for his ability to extract the most from Vinicius Jr’s potential.
