Brazil's new coach beats cancer after clashing with Neymar

Brazilian club Sao Paulo announced that coach Torival Jr. will step down to lead the national football team after Fernando Diniz after Spain failed to sign Italian Carlo Ancelotti, who renewed his contract with Real Madrid.

The Brazilian confederation is yet to confirm the appointment of 61-year-old Torival, after the decision to sack Diniz, who was given the job on a temporary basis during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers alongside coaching South American champions Fluminense.

Sao Paulo said in a statement on the “X” site last night: “The club announces the departure of coach Dorival Junior, who has asked to leave to take charge of the Brazilian national team.”

Torrival led Flamengo to win the Copa Libertadores and the Brazilian Cup in 2022 before moving to Sao Paulo last year. He also coached several local teams such as Atletico Mineiro, Atletico Paranense, Internacional, Vasco da Gama, Fluminense and Palmeiras.

During the Sao Paulo statement, Torrival said he was fulfilling a “personal dream” and could only achieve it after his work in the team was praised.

Brazil had a poor year with Dinis, exiting in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with former coach Tite. Finished sixth in World Cup qualifying, with just two wins and three losses in six matches. Neymar, its all-time leading scorer, also lost efforts to the Saudi Al-Hilal striker due to a torn ligament.

Brazil suffered their first home defeat in qualifying history to arch-rivals Argentina at their ancient ground, the Maracana, and drew at home with lowly Venezuela, putting Denis under intense pressure.

Diniz was sacked by a court ruling after Ednalo Rodriguez returned to the presidency of the Brazilian Confederation.

Torrival was not a great player and did not represent the Brazilian national team. He continued to travel after representing the shirts of 12 local teams, including Palmeiras and Gremio, but his situation as a coach was very different.

He started his coaching career in 2002 and has managed all the major teams in his country.He is known as the “Brazilian Guardiola” due to his attacking approach.

After the Brazilian coach traveled to Europe in 2015 to train with Real Madrid and Chelsea, Torrival had the chance to get close to Spanish coach Pep Guardiola during his time at Bayern Munich and transfer his ideas to the Samba country. , and Roma.

A turning point came in 2010 when Santos took over as coach and contributed to the brilliance of the talented Neymar, who offered entertaining attacking football and won the Sao Paulo State League twice and the Brazilian Cup with him.

But when he was 18, Torival left Santos in a dispute with Neymar. The player was furious and insulted his coach for preventing him from taking a penalty kick against Atletico Goenez.

Dorival said at the time: “I didn't face discipline problems in my teams, but there were many problems with Neymar. I did everything I could to help him.”

Toriwal decided to punish Neymar for preventing him from playing in the summit clash against Corinthians, but the club protested and sacked the coach.

Torrival faced another challenge in 2019 when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, sidelining him from training for a few months, but he returned to lead Atletico Paranense and win the state title the following year.

In 2021, Torival could not find a job and then reached the height of success with Flamengo by being crowned champions of South America, but was shocked by his sacking and he moved to São Paulo to lead them to the Brazilian Cup. The national team opened its doors for him to achieve his biggest dream.

Torrival will certainly face questions about his future relationship with Neymar, now 31, and how he will manage him after he recovers from injury, but the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain man still has time, the coach said earlier. A star who makes his country proud.

Last year he said: “Neymar could have achieved great things in his career, if he had been more consistent, if he had developed himself a bit, he could have achieved great successes, but his value cannot be underestimated. He is a top player. There are few like him in the world.

He asked Lionel Messi to follow his example, explaining, “It's not too late. Messi is a great example. Neymar has the ability to win the World Cup just like him, but it's up to him.”