Ancelotti set to be introduced as Brazil’s new coach on Monday

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Carlo Ancelotti is set to be introduced as Brazil’s head coach at a news conference Monday, becoming the first foreigner to hold that position full-time in a century.

The 65-year-old Italian will also announce his squad for two South American World Cup qualifying matches next month against Ecuador and Paraguay.

Ancelotti was scheduled to arrive Sunday, hours after Samir Xaud was elected for a four-year term as president of the Brazilian soccer confederation. The election marked the end of a tumultuous process, mired in legal procedures that removed Ednaldo Rodrigues as CBF president. It was Rodrigues who hired Ancelotti from Real Madrid.

Ancelotti and businessman Diego Fernandes, one of the negotiators for the CBF involved in signing the new coach, took a picture beside a private jet before they left Madrid.

They were expected to land at Rio’s international airport at 8:10 p.m. local time Sunday.

There was no organized reception for Ancelotti at the airport, but some fans wearing Brazil’s shirt said they’re now optimistic about the team’s chances under the new coach.

Before Ancelotti, Brazil caretaker coaches Ramon Menezes and Fernando Diniz failed to bring good results and performances, and Dorival Júnior was fired in March after a 4-1 defeat at Argentina.

Ancelotti, whose contract with Brazil runs through the next World Cup, is expected to meet the CBF leadership before his news conference at a Rio hotel.

"We can’t trust Neymar, we can’t trust the CBF, but Ancelotti does bring us hope," said Flávio Mileny, a fan from the city of Belem visiting Rio and wearing Brazil’s blue shirt. "Even if he doesn’t bring the World Cup next year, hopefully he will stay on to win the next. He has won it all, it is a great beat that Brazil is making now."

Eliane Salieri, who was wearing a Brazil national team jacket, said it was time for a foreigner to come in as head coach.

"I would have preferred Jorge Jesus, who coached Flamengo and won many titles here," Salieri said in a reference to the Portuguese manager who was recently fired from Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal. "But this guy Ancelotti is great, he was won everything. Everyone will respect him."

Xaud didn’t face any challengers in his bid for the CBF president’s job on Sunday, despite the fact he has never run a soccer body in his career. He comes from the Amazon state of Roraima, bordering Venezuela, with only 10 clubs under its helm - none of them in top divisions.

Xaud’s father has run the local soccer federation for four decades, and he was expected to take over next year. Though he had support from local state federations, which are key in the election, the vast majority of Brazil’s top-flight clubs refused to send representatives to the confederation’s headquarters to give support to the new president.

Xaud told journalists that Ancelotti "will have full autonomy" and "will be shielded from any possible external situation,” in a reference to the confederation’s legal woes and internal fighting.

Rodrigues, who was elected in 2022 and had been re-elected for a second term, was removed from the position by a Rio judge’s decision due to alleged irregularities in the election process a year earlier.

Rodrigues gave up on any appeals and wished Xaud luck in his term.