Dorival Junior becomes Brazil’s new national football coach.
His club FC Sao Paulo announced this on Sunday. However, official confirmation from the Brazilian association CBF is still pending. The 61-year-old succeeds Fernando Diniz, who was released just a few days ago after three defeats in a row.
Dorival Junior asked his club to take over the Selecao, Sao Paulo said in a statement. “It’s a personal dream come true,” he said. The coach won the Brazilian Cup with Sao Paulo last year. With Flamengo he also won the Copa Libertadores in 2022, the South American equivalent of the European Champions League.
Crisis since Tite’s dismissal
Brazil is only in sixth place in South America’s World Cup qualification with seven points after six games. Diniz also didn’t get the hang of the record world champion.
Since successful coach Tite was fired after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the association has been looking for a long-term solution. Neither Tite’s successor Ramon Menezes nor Diniz turned out to be this. Most recently, Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was considered the new national coach, but the Italian recently extended his contract with the Royals.