Ancelotti arrives in Brazil to take over as head coach of the national team

Carlo Ancelotti wore a Brazil national team cap when arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday on the eve of his formal introduction as head coach. He is the first foreigner to coach the five-time World Cup winners full-time in a century.

The 65-year-old Italian, who arrived in Brazil just before 9 p.m. local time with several family members and his coaching staff, will also announce his squad Monday for two South American World Cup qualifying matches next month against Ecuador and Paraguay.

Ancelotti arrived hours after Samir Xaud was elected for a four-year term as president of the Brazilian soccer confederation. Sunday's 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.

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 facing the domestic media.

Xaud didn't face any challenges in his bid for the CBF president's job, despite the fact that he had 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.

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.