A historic milestone will be established: for the first time in more than a century of history of the FIFA World Cup, the victorious Brazilian team will have a commander coming from outside the country to compete in the tournament.
In his post for twelve months, Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, recognized for multiple titles in club teams and his debut in a national team, personifies this turnaround in the management of the Canarian team.
However, it would be inaccurate to consider the former Real Madrid coach the pioneer among foreigners to take over the national team. Before his appointment, three other foreign coaches were in charge, although none of them participated in World Cups.
Below, we detail the trajectories of the foreign predecessors who occupied the Brazilian team’s reserve bench.
The Pioneering Leadership of Ramón Platero in 1925
The first foreign coach to take over Brazil was Uruguayan Ramón Platero, who led the team in a period far from the consolidation of national football, just eleven years after the Seleção’s first official game.
Before his time with the Seleção, Platero had accumulated significant experience in Brazilian clubs such as Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco, and was then invited to lead Brazil in the 1925 South American Championship, the precursor to the Copa América.
Initially, the position of coach would be occupied by Joaquim Guimarães, a Brazilian, but he was later reallocated to the position of technical director, opening up space for the Uruguayan to work with the athletes.
At the end of the campaign, the Brazilian team recorded two victories against Paraguay, a draw and a defeat against Argentina, ending their participation in the continental tournament as runners-up.
The Portuguese Joreca and His Brief Passage in 1944
Jorge Gomes de Lima, a Portuguese who came to Brazil in his youth, began his involvement with football in the field of journalism. Known as Joreca, he worked as a sports commentator on radio, studied physical education and refereed professional games before starting his career as a coach.
His professional peak occurred at São Paulo Futebol Clube, where he won the third São Paulo championship in 1943, 1945 and 1946. During this period of success, he was invited to take part in an innovative initiative: sharing leadership of the national team with Flávio Costa.
This technical partnership was short-lived, lasting just two friendlies. Despite the positive results against Uruguay, the board at the time opted to resume the practice of a single coach, dismissing Joreca and keeping only the Brazilian coach, who would later be runner-up in the world champion in 1950.
Filpo Núñez’s experience with Palmeiras in the national team in 1965
The last foreign coach to lead the national team before Carlo Ancelotti was Argentine Filpo Núñez, from the country that is Brazil’s main rival on the football scene.
Nelson Ernesto Filpo Núñez has an extensive career in Brazil, the nation that would become the first and only five-time world champion in the sport. Between the 1950s and 1990s, he was in charge of dozens of Brazilian teams.
Núñez was the coach of Palmeiras during the period known as the “Primeira Academia”, a team that directly rivaled Pelé’s Santos. Consequently, when he was invited to represent Brazil at the inauguration of the Mineirão with the Seleção’s uniform, the position of coach was assigned to him.
His participation was limited to a single game, a 3-0 victory over Uruguay, in which Palmeiras played with the yellow shirt, representing Brazil with its red essence.
Current Challenges of the National Team towards the Sixth Star
Currently, Carlo Ancelotti continues his planning at the CBF headquarters, focused on preparations for the national team’s next challenges.
The team, with Vinicius Jr. and other talents, will make its World Cup debut against Morocco, a week after the final preparatory clash. In Group C, the next opponents will be Haiti, on the 19th, and Scotland, on the 24th.
If they advance as leader or vice-leader of Group C, the Seleção will face an opponent from Group F, which includes the Netherlands, Japan, Sweden or Tunisia, in the first stage of the knockout matches.
If classified as one of the best third-placed teams, the team could face opponents from groups A, E or I, which could lead to clashes with world champion teams such as Germany and France.
