How Carlo Ancelotti’s move from Real Madrid to Brazil got awkward

Carlo Ancelotti is swapping Real Madrid for Brazil in one of the biggest moves in world soccer. The problem is, neither he, nor Madrid, want to talk about it.

As coaching switches go, they don’t come any bigger than this.

But when news broke Monday that Ancelotti was leaving the sport’s the most successful and iconic club team to take charge of its most successful and iconic national team, there was an awkward silence.

Madrid chose to ignore the announcement by the Brazilian soccer federation and was still to publicly acknowledge it 24 hours later.

There was silence, too, from Ancelotti, who didn’t even provide a quote for his new employer when it published its official statement.

That left an uncomfortable vacuum until Ancelotti finally confirmed his departure during a scheduled news conference on Tuesday, which he only took part in because he was supposed to preview Madrid’s upcoming match against Mallorca.

“If I didn’t have this news conference today it would have been a fantastic day. But in this news conference I have to explain things that I don’t want to explain,” the Italian coach said.

Bad timing?

Becoming coach of record five-time world champion Brazil should be among the proudest moments of Ancelotti’s career. He is the first foreign coach to take charge of the team of Pele, Ronaldo and Neymar; and the most iconic yellow jersey in soccer.

But even for Ancelotti — who is famed for his cool demeanour on the sideline, cigar smoking and the odd raised eyebrow — his reaction has been understated.

The 65-year-old Ancelotti — who has won a record five Champions League titles as a coach — does not begin his new job until May 26 with a view to leading Brazil to next year’s World Cup.

With three more rounds of the Spanish season to go said he did not want “anybody asking me about other things, because I respect this jersey a lot and I want to respect it until the last day.”

Muted Madrid

The announcement came after Madrid’s 4-3 loss to Barcelona over the weekend all but confirmed the defending Spanish champion would surrender its league title.

Barcelona needs just two points to be crowned champion and can complete the job against Espanyol on Thursday.

Ancelotti’s exit has been long-trailed, with departing Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso widely expected to replace him. So news of the deal will not have come as a surprise to Madrid, which was involved in the negotiations to release Ancelotti early from a contract that had another year to run.

But its silence has been notable, with no messages of congratulations or thanks to a coach that won two Champions League titles and the Spanish title in his second spell at the club.

Ancelotti also coached Madrid from 2013-15, which saw him win another Champions League.

“Real Madrid will release the statement when they want. There’s no problem whatsoever. They’ll do it at the appropriate time for Real Madrid and there’s nothing further to add,” Ancelotti said.

Brazil boost

The appointment of Ancelotti, who is arguably the greatest active coach in soccer, is a major coup for Brazil as it aims to return to the summit of the sport next year.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has previously been linked with the job, but signed a contract extension with his club this season.

By securing Ancelotti this month, it means he can get to work straight away with World Cup qualifying matches against Ecuador and Paraguay coming up in June.

It was possible Ancelotti could have stayed on to lead Madrid at the expanded Club World Cup in the United States in June and July. That would have served as a fitting parting, with a chance for him to add to his decorated career.

Instead, Ancelotti’s focus will be on Brazil, which last won the World Cup in 2002 and had to watch as fierce rival Argentina was crowned world champion in 2022.

What next for Madrid?

The record 15-time European Cup winner was knocked out of the Champions League in the quarterfinals and is on the verge of being usurped by Barcelona in the league.

At a club with the most demanding standards, a change was bound to come.

Alonso — a Champions League winner with Madrid as a player — is considered one of the most exciting young coaches in the game and led Leverkusen to the German league and cup double in his first full season in charge last year.

That success saw him linked with Madrid and Liverpool last season, but he decided to stay on for another year in Germany.

He confirmed this month that he will be leaving Leverkusen at the end of the season, with a move to Madrid widely tipped.

On Tuesday Ancelotti, did little dampen speculation about Alonso’s expected arrival.

“I like Alonso a lot,” he said. “I don’t have any advice for him because he already has all the tools needed to become a great coach in the future.”

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer