After the bitter World Cup defeat by Croatia, Tite will resign as planned as Brazil’s national soccer coach.
“Even if it’s difficult, I’m sticking with it: this is the end of my time with the Brazilian national team,” said the 61-year-old after the 4-2 penalty shoot-out against Croatia in the quarter-finals. “We shouldn’t make a drama out of it. I announced it for a long time. There are enough people who can replace me.”
He was “proud” of his team’s performance in Qatar. Tite explained that he was “mainly responsible” for the unexpectedly early failure: “It’s not about hero or villain – that’s football, sometimes we win, sometimes we lose.” One must now “be willing to share our grief”. Already in February he had announced his withdrawal at the end of the contract on December 31st.
“I will not lie, I will only stay until the end of the World Cup,” he said at the time. In 2016 he took over from Dunga as national coach and managed the second longest tenure at the Selecao after Flavio Costa (1944 to 1955).
At World Cups, Tite failed with the team in both 2018 and 2022 in the quarterfinals, the only title there was in 2019 at the Copa America.
The Brazilian association does not want to hold talks with potential successor candidates until January.