Brazil close to appointing new manager, says CBF official

Rio de Janeiro, May 6 (IANS) The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) aims to name a new men's national team manager by next week, sporting director Rodrigo Caetano said The position has been vacant since March 28, when Dorival Junior was sacked following a 4-1 World Cup qualifying defeat to Argentina in Buenos Aires.

Caetano said he continued assessing potential candidates with CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues and technical coordinator Juan Santos.

"We are constantly in internal meetings ... and we are trying to confirm this name as quickly as possible," Caetano told Sportv as quoted by Xinhua.

"Due to the confidential nature of our negotiations, it is practically impossible for us to talk about probabilities. We know that it is a national issue and that the choice of the head coach for the Brazilian national team is an extremely important one. We hope to be able to confirm the new manager next week at the latest."

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is understood to remain the CBF's preferred choice, with Jorge Jesus and Abel Ferreira also contenders.

The CBF previously said it intended to appoint a new manager in time for Brazil's World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay in June.

"We are working with a very small number of names ... and we have our targets," Caetano said. "But it's very difficult to talk about any specific name right now because it could be counterproductive."

However, according to the Spanish national daily Marca, in a meeting between Brazilian officials and the Real Madrid coach, the Italian accepted the offer and will join Brazil's national team in June as they dream of winning their sixth World Cup title in North America, Mexico and Canada in 2026.

The report further said Ancelotti will leave Real Madrid after the final league match and will move to Brazil for the friendly matches against Ecuador and Paraguay in June.

Brazil are currently fourth in the 10-team South American qualifying group, 10 points behind leader Argentina with four matchdays remaining.

The top six teams will earn an automatic place at football's showpiece tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada next year. The seventh-ranked side will advance to an intercontinental playoff.

—IANS

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