Brazil’s prolific winger Vinicius Jr has revealed that Le Selecao gaffer Tite and Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti frequently speak with each other.
Los Blancos have three players competing in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar for Brazil. In addition to Vinicius Jr, the four-time World Champions have Rodrygo and Eder Militao on their roster. Casemiro, a former Los Blancos player who joined Manchester United in August, is also an important member of the squad.
The former Flamengo winger recently praised Ancelotti for his advice and mentoring, telling ESPN:
“I talked with Ancelotti and he gave me a lot of advice to help me become a starter with Brazil. He gave me a lot of confidence. He always was tough with me when he needed to be. He is like a father to me.”
He also drew parallels between former Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho and Tite:
“He is good not only with the technical aspects of the game, but also with how he deals with his players. I have been improving a lot and Ancelotti has helped me with that. He and Tite are very similar and they talk to each other a lot.”
Vinicius has one goal and two assists in three appearances for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The 22-year-old scored one goal and assisted on another in their 4-1 round of 16 win over South Korea on December 5.
The five-time world champions will face Croatia in the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals on Friday, December 9th. Vinicius Jr will face his Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric, who captains the Vatreni, in this tie. Brazil have so far won three of their four matches this World Cup going down only to Cameroon in their group match.
