Over the last few weeks since Brazil’s elimination from the World Cup speculation has been growing with regard to who will be the next manager for the Brazilian national team. We’re not saying that the Brazilian FA reads World Soccer News Now, but it’s quite the coincidence that rumors started swirling around Brazil finally hiring a foreign manager for their national team mere days after we suggested it! In any case, if Brazil were to go that route it would break a streak of more than 67 years in which their national team has been coached by a Brazilian.
There are two main names that have been thrown out there as leaders in the clubhouse for the job, and these two men are none other than Zinedine Zidane, and Luis Enrique. It’s important to point out that there has been no confirmation by the Brazilian FA in regard to whether they’ve even contacted any of these two men. However, here are a few reasons why they should look into hiring the man who robbed them of a World Cup in 1998 Zinedine Zidane.
The Carlo Ancelotti School Of Managers
Carlo Ancelotti recently described his tactical approach to football saying that he prioritized tactical work on the back end. However, when it came to the attack he believed in allowing his players to have more freedom to use their talents, and intuition to be able to create goal scoring chances. Zizou probably has his own ideas, but he does come from that Carlo Ancelotti school having worked under the Italian at Real Madrid before taking over for him as first team boss.
That approach to managing a team that Ancelotti describes seems to be the perfect recipe for a Brazil team that is littered with talent. Our concern with Tite heading into the World Cup was that he really was unwilling to adapt his team at all to what was happening during the game. That’s something that Zidane has proven that he can do. His Real Madrid teams were not always goal scoring power houses, ok they mostly were! However, they defended well when they needed to. That seems to be a recipe that can be translated directly to this current Brazil squad.
The problem with bringing someone like Luis Enrique along is that he’ll probably look to encapsulate the Brazilian players to a play style that may not be overly suited for them. That possession tiki-taka play style that Guardiola made famous at Barcelona contrasts with the vertical offense that Brazil used to running. Also, Brazilian players are not known for being tactically disciplined, which could pose a big problem for Luis Enrique. While Zidane seems to be better equipped to handle such an issue.
Wasn’t Zizou Going To Take Over France?
This was essentially the plan before the World Cup. At least it was treated basically as a fact in the media. Zidane was going to take over for Didier Deschamps as soon as the World Cup ended. As the tournament went along though it just seemed more and more unlikely that Zidane would follow through. Simply put, there’s not a lot more to achieve with this French squad. In fact, Zidane or anyone else who takes over the French national team has to preside over a generational passing of the torch.
While there are certainly great young players in France led by Kylian Mbappé there’s not a lot more to achieve other than a Euro title with this generation. The Brazil project seems like a much more intriguing option for any manager. Of course, we would have to take into account that Zidane is French. That sentimental side could win, but it is odd that he has been announced as France’s manager already. So, it wouldn’t be odd to learn that he’s got other options on the table. Including an offer from the Brazilian FA.
