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The Brazilian federation is considering to appoint Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti this summer after head coach Dorival Junior was fired by Brazil after record 4-1 loss to Argentina in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying. This rumor emerged already in the early months of 2023 when the Brazilian federation wanted to hire the Italian coach for the 2024 Copa America, but then Ancelotti committed to Real Madrid with a new deal and decided to stay in charge of the Spanish giants.
The idea of hiring one of the managers with most titles in the history of the game is still in the air, but it would still become something unusual as only three non-Brazilian coaches were hired for the job, and all the managers that won the five World Cups with Brazil were also Brazilian. It's a general preconception of this sport that the national teams have to be managed, in most cases, by coaches of the country they represent, but the latest examples of Thomas Tuchel for England and Mauricio Pochettino for the U.S. men's national team shows that federations continue to explore everywhere in search of that coveted coach who can get them over the hump.
While most of these jobs are filled, let's have some fun and match USA, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay with an ideal European coach:
Argentina: Pep Guardiola
Lionel Scaloni has done something incredible with Argentina, as he was able to win the Copa America in 2021 and 2024 and most notably, the 2022 Qatar World Cup in penalties against France. While the Argentinian coach had some thoughts about leaving the job in 2023, he's now fully in charge and will lead his national team to the 2026 World Cup
With his contract running at Manchester City until the summer 2027, the Spanish manager has hinted before that he was interested in coaching a national team in the future, possibly before making an early retirement in his incredibly successful coaching career. While it's difficult to think he could reunite with Argentinian star Lionel Messi due to his age, Guardiola would be one of the few who could replace a winning coach like Scaloni, who brought Argentina into arguably it's latest golden era.
Guardiola would be perfect not only for the way he managed his clubs before, but also because he would speak his first language, avoiding a language barrier, which is often considered as one of the main issues when it comes to national team jobs. Guardiola coaching the Argentinian national team at the Monumental in Buenos Aires would be one of the most iconic images of all time in this sport.
United States: Jose Mourinho
If we are playing this game of coaches, we need to include Jose Mourinho in the conversation as the Portuguese coach was very close to managing Portugal in January 2023 but then he decided to stay in charge at AS Roma as he didn't want to leave his club during the season not long after winning the 2022 UEFA Conference League. Mourinho always had a special bond with the United States, as he chose many times during his career to start the preseason with camps at UCLA when he was at Chelsea and at Inter as well. With the USMNT, Mourinho would have a similar task to the one he had at AS Roma -- bringing the team to the next level as he was able to win with the Giallorossi their first ever UEFA trophy. Pochettino is now in charge and is set to guide the U.S. at the World Cup, but after the Nations League disaster in March, a group-stage exit could possibly lead to more changes.
Mexico: Mikel Arteta
Talking about steps, Mexico are now called to make a big one as they will also be hosting the 2026 World Cup. Current manager Javier Aguirre started off well and won the Concacaf Nations League after winning 2-1 against Panama in the final and looks like he can be that kind of manager, but if we look at European coaches, a profile like that of Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta would be perfect for the job. A young coach who has some solid football ideas and cares a lot about the development of the younger players, something that Mexico need to aspire to over the next years.
Brazil: Jurgen Klopp
We already mentioned Carlo Ancelotti is the current dream of the Brazilian federation, but who else could take that job among the European coaches? Brazil need someone with experience and that can also deal with so many stars and young talents who need to play together. Well, Jurgen Klopp would be ideal for such a job. Klopp, after leaving Liverpool last year, became the head of global soccer for the RedBull Group and among the clubs controlled by the Austrian group there is RedBull Bragantino, a first division Brazilian team. Klopp was considered for the Germany job and reports suggested there is a clause in his RedBull contract that allows him to leave in case the German FA call him for the job, but the same RedBull denied the reports. As of today, if Klopp will be back managing, it's more likely to see him coaching a national team rather than a club.