Latest news with #Alisson
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Reviewing Carlo Ancelotti's First Two Matches as Brazil Manager
The legendary Italian coach is bringing order, discipline, and quiet confidence to a Brazil side that has recently struggled to live up to its rich history. With his first two matches under his belt, Carlo Ancelotti isn't just adjusting to South American football — he's laying the foundation for a more balanced and battle-ready Brazil. We revisit Brazil's first steps under Ancelotti with tactical analyst and YouTuber Filippo Silva, aka Tactical Manager. Carlo Ancelotti's debut as Brazil's manager was anything but smooth sailing. Facing Ecuador in the hostile setting of Guayaquil, Ancelotti went with a 4-3-3 setup. The result? A hard-fought 0-0 draw that showed just how challenging CONMEBOL qualifiers can be, especially for a coach still learning the rhythms of South American football. With limited time to implement his ideas, there were few takeaways beyond the grit and shape the squad displayed. Still, there were signs of Ancelotti's intentions. The return of Casemiro after a two-year absence brought stability to the midfield. Alisson, Marquinhos, Vinícius Júnior, and Richarlison — key figures Ancelotti has worked with or played against in Europe — formed the spine of this early iteration of his Brazil. The familiarity clearly helps as the new coach tries to mold a team that blends talent with structure. Advertisement Brazil's second game, a home fixture against Paraguay, offered a clearer look at the direction Ancelotti wants to take. Brazil was dominant throughout, outshooting Paraguay 11-5 and controlling 75% of possession. The lineup was more fluid, with Gabriel Martinelli and Raphinha added to inject pace and unpredictability. It was a slim 1-0 win, but one that sealed World Cup qualification and gave Ancelotti his first taste of victory in yellow and green. 'I'm very happy with today's result,' said Vinicius, who scored the winner, after the match. 'We needed to win at home for our fans too and qualify for the World Cup, which was our goal. 'Now [Ancelotti] will have more time to work, to see what he can improve. Today wasn't one of our best games, but the important thing in qualifying is to win and prepare well for the World Cup.' A Much-Needed Tactical Shift According to Filippo Silva, better known under his moniker Tactical Manager, what stood out in Ancelotti's early games wasn't flair, it was focus. Advertisement 'I liked the fact that the team had a much better defense, more defensive solidity,' Silva said. 'The team was not defending well under Dorival Júnior. In these two games Brazil was very solid with Marquinhos and Alexsandro Ribeiro as the center backs, and the return of Casemiro helps. This was the first window where Brazil got two clean sheets.' That stability is no accident. Ancelotti is known for simplifying roles and making teams harder to beat. For a Brazil side that has too often looked disjointed and chaotic in recent years, his steady hand could be exactly what it needs. 'Brazil played much more like a team,' Silva added. 'It wasn't pretty, both were tough opponents as Paraguay was undefeated for various games and Ecuador barely concedes goals. Brazil finally functioned as a team.' Breaking the Taboo: A Foreign Fix for a Local ProblemAdvertisement Ancelotti's hiring represents a break from tradition. Brazil may have a lot of playing talent but their coaching at the professional level, locally, has fallen behind considerably. Clubs cycle through managers at a frantic pace, rarely giving anyone time to build a real project. Many of the best-performing coaches in Brazil's domestic leagues — like Abel Ferreira and Leonardo Jardim — aren't even Brazilian. Ferreira has been the best coach in the country for the last five years with Palmieras. The Portuguese manager has won 10 titles including two Copa Libertadores. Newcomer Leonardo Jardim, also from Portugal, has his Cruzeiro side tied for first place, but Brazilian soccer isn't a place for long term plans and it's not a stretch to see a head coach having over 10 jobs in less than 15 years. It has also become a carousel of coaches jumping and being fired from club to club, which has hurt the head coaching ranks in Brazil heavily as few coaches ever have time to fully flesh out their identities. Enter Ancelotti, a man who not only brings elite-level experience but also has worked directly with Brazil's top stars at the club level. That deep familiarity is a major advantage. Unlike coaches unfamiliar with Brazil's player pool or culture, Ancelotti steps in already knowing how to manage egos, build trust, and get the most out of players like Vinícius Júnior and Casemiro. Advertisement For a national team drowning in short-term fixes and tactical confusion, Ancelotti offers clarity. His approach isn't about flashy innovation, it's about building a team that understands its roles, plays to its strengths, and competes with purpose. If Brazil wants to reclaim its spot among the world's elite, it needs more than talent — it needs direction. Reclaiming the Spirit of Jogo Bonito, the Right WayThe romantic ideal of Brazil's jogo bonito may be fading, but Ancelotti could help revive it, and not in the way many expect. Brazilian players now leave for Europe younger than ever, learning to operate in rigid, tactical systems. The iconic flair remains, but it's been shaped by the demands of modern football. Advertisement Ancelotti has a history of creating balanced teams that both entertain and win. His Milan sides were masterclasses in harmony, and his Real Madrid squads have always been deadly efficient without sacrificing flair. That's the blueprint Brazil needs. A team that can be disciplined without being dull. Creative without being chaotic. Above all, Ancelotti knows when to loosen the reins and when to tighten them. In a football culture often torn between freedom and function, he might be the rare coach who can offer both. Looking Ahead: A New Core Takes ShapeWith World Cup qualification secured, attention turns to squad building. Silva sees several players already rising in Ancelotti's estimation. Advertisement 'Alexsandro Ribeiro, his stock went up, he could be a starter on the national team,' Silva said. 'Matheus Cunha I thought he played very well… and for what it's worth, Vinícius Júnior, he wasn't outstanding, but we started to see a little bit of a better version of him. If he can consistently play well like he did against Paraguay, he can become 'the man' for the national team.' Vinícius Júnior: Unlocking the Superstar There may be no player more vital to Ancelotti's Brazil than Vinícius Júnior. The 24-year-old has dazzled at Real Madrid, but his national team numbers — just seven goals in 41 caps — still fall short. Vini also famously struggled in his first few years in Madrid, but took off once Ancelotti returned to the club in 2021. If anyone can help the prodigious winger bridge the gap between his play for club and country, it's the man who helped turn him into one of the world's deadliest players. Advertisement Vinícius thrives on space, chaos, and one-on-one battles. He brings energy, unpredictability, and now, thanks to Ancelotti, more polish and consistency. He's already out of the gates strong under Ancelotti with one goal in two games — a small but meaningful step. While some purists may grumble about a foreign coach leading Brazil, even the most die-hard traditionalists can't deny that the team needed help. And it's getting it from one of the most respected winners in football history. Ancelotti may not sip caipirinhas or dance samba, but he understands something that Brazil desperately needs: how to win with style, but never at the cost of structure.
Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Liverpool receive Alisson transfer offer as goalkeeper makes decision on future
Liverpool No 1 Alisson has received an offer from Turkish champions Galatasaray who made enquires to sign the Brazilian goalkeeper, only to see it knocked back Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson is the subject of transfer interest with Galatasaray making an enquiry for the goalkeeper. The Brazilian has been quick to reject the offer and remains committed to life at Anfield. Alisson was the most expensive goalkeeper in history when he moved from Roma back in 2018 and has proved a hugely successful signing. Despite being 32, he's still at the peak of his powers and has just helped the Reds claim the top flight title. Liverpool's No 1 is under contract until 2027 and, despite several changes to their goalkeeping ranks, Alisson remains central to their plans and Sky Germany reports he's rejected the prospect of a move to the Turkish champions. The Merseysiders have just sanctioned the sale of Caoimhin Kelleher, who joined Brentford after a several years serving as an impressive deputy to Alisson. Giorgi Mamardashvili, the Georgian No 1, will also arrive from Valencia having been signed last summer. Alisson concedes he doesn't make long-term decisions but expects to remain with Liverpool as they continue building under Arne Slot with a World Cup triumph in America on his radar come next summer. He said: "I've never been able to plan long term. Obviously now I have one year left on my contract and another year of club option, which they will probably exercise. It's a decisive moment in my career, with a World Cup coming up. I want to be very focused, I don't want anything external to get in the way of that." Galatasaray have shown they're more than willing to spend huge sums as they continue to be their country's dominant force. They have just landed Leroy Sane from Bayern Munich with the winger's contract expiring this summer. They've handed the former Manchester City man huge wages with the German thought to be earning £410,000-per-week. Alisson has never expressed any great desire to leave Anfield and a host of Brazilians have previously decided to head back to their homeland as their careers go on. The Liverpool goalkeeper began his days with Internacional. Compatriots Neymar and Philippe Coutinho have returned to South America and Alisson admits he's heard mixed things. He said: "I talk to athletes who have made this move to return, some have had good experiences, others not. Each one will have their own experience, but I want to return, especially to Inter. I don't know when it will happen, but I still want to do it at a high level. That's what I have planned."
BBC News
13-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Where will Wirtz rank in list of most expensive signings?
Florian Wirtz is set to become the 10th footballer to move for a nine-figure fee after Liverpool agreed to pay Bayer Leverkusen an initial £100m for the Germany attacking add-ons, the Reds could end up paying Leverkusen £ move will make Wirtz, 22, Liverpool's club record signing, the most expensive German football ever - and the biggest sale by a Bundesliga already have the world's second most expensive goalkeeper - Alisson - and centre-back - Virgil van British record for an initial fee remains the £107m Chelsea paid for Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez in months later they signed Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo for an initial £100m, which could rise to £ initial fee means he moves for exactly half the world record, which remains the £200m PSG paid Barcelona for Neymar in BBC Sport looks at some of the most expensive players ever - by position, league and are using initial fees, excluding add-ons, where possible - including reported figures where they were officially undisclosed. Premier League Chelsea's £107m addition of Argentine Fernandez remains the British transfer is then a four-way tie on £100m - with three having potential could end up being the biggest of those with £16m in add-ons, while Caicedo's could reach £ Rice moved from West Ham to Arsenal for a fee which could reach £105m, while Jack Grealish's move from Aston Villa to Manchester City in 2021 was for a flat £ also rank high up with their £97.5m signing of Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku, while Manchester United's acquisitions of Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba (£89m), Ajax winger Antony (£82m) and Leicester defender Harry Maguire (£80m) are next on the City defender Josko Gvardiol (£77m) is next, with Lukaku appearing for the second time courtesy of his £75m move from Everton to Manchester United in 2017. Who is Liverpool's record signing? Until the Wirtz transfer is finalised, Netherlands centre-back Van Dijk, at £75m, is Liverpool's record signing. Alisson's move from Roma for £66.8m is next. Striker Darwin Nunez cost an initial £64m, rising to £85m, when he joined from Benfica - and midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai cost £60m from RB Leipzig in Keita, also a midfielder from Leipzig, cost £48m in July 2018 - a club record at the time. Ligue 1 The two most expensive signings of all time were made by Paris St-German in the same first spent £200m on Barcelona's Neymar in 2017, before adding Monaco's Kylian Mbappe, initially on loan, in what became a £165.7m other Ligue 1 signings make the top Kolo Muani is the next highest after his £76.4m move from Eintracht Frankfurt in September reports the 16 most expensive Ligue 1 signings have all been by PSG. La Liga Spanish clubs have made three of the top 10 most expensive signings of all time, although - perhaps surprisingly - none involve Real Madrid's £113m move for Benfica forward Joao Felix in 2019 is third on the all-time list, when you exclude potential add-ons for Barcelona signings Philippe Coutinho (£105m, rising to £142m) and Ousmane Dembele (£96.8m, rising to £135.5m).Level with Fernandez in fourth is the £107m Barcelona paid Atletico for Antoine Griezmann in and Dembele are next on La Liga biggest signing remains the initial £89m they paid Chelsea for Eden Hazard in 2019. That fee reportedly could have reached £150m, but it is unlikely many of the add-ons were met before he retired in 2023. Serie A The Italian league's record spend was on a 33-year-old, with Juventus paying £99.2m in 2018 for Real Madrid's Cristiano comes Juve's £75.3m signing of Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain in 2016, then Inter's £74m move for Lukaku from Manchester United in 2019 - which only ranks as Lukaku's third biggest are next, too, with Matthijs de Ligt costing £67.5m from Ajax in 2019. Bundesliga As would be expected, Bayern Munich are responsible for the majority of Germany's biggest signings - topped by their £86.4m move for Tottenham striker Harry Kane in record before that was Lucas Hernandez's £68m move from Atletico Madrid in paid Juventus £65.5m for De Ligt in 2022 and last summer signed Crystal Palace and France winger Michael Olise for £50m. Other leagues The biggest purchase by a team outside of Europe's top five leagues is Al-Hilal's £77.6m move to sign Neymar from PSG in paid £64.5m to sign Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran in the relatively recent Saudi spending spree, most of the biggest signings by non-European clubs had been made in China between 2016 and were headlined by Shanghai SIPG's £60m signing of Chelsea midfielder Oscar in 2017. Most expensive British signings Rice and Grealish jointly hold the title of being the most expensive British Bellingham's 2023 move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid for a initial £88.5m puts him comes England captain Kane to Bayern, and Wales winger Gareth Bale, who made an £85m move from Tottenham to Real Madrid in the £80m man, is followed by Jadon Sancho, who moved in 2021 from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United for £73m. Mason Mount is next following his £55m move from Chelsea to McTominay is the most expensive Scot, costing Napoli £25.7m last summer from Manchester United - narrowly beating the £25m Arsenal paid Celtic for left-back Kieran Tierney in Ireland's priciest player remains Jamal Lewis, who made a £15m switch from Norwich to Newcastle in 2020. How about other countries? Argentina's most expensive player is Fernandez and Spain's is £71m Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who was signed from Athletic Bilbao. France's is Mbappe, Brazil's is Neymar and Van Dijk leads the way for Dutch is top for Portugal, Belgium's record is Lukaku and Germany's will be Tonali is the most expensive Italian after his £55m move from AC Milan to Newcastle. Goalkeepers Most of the priciest goalkeepers have gone to Premier League teams, led by Chelsea's £71m outlay on move to Liverpool the same summer ranks second, followed by Manchester United's signing of Inter Milan's Andre Onana in 2023 for £ is Manchester City's 2017 signing of Benfica's Ederson for £ Ederson move ended Gianluigi Buffon's 16-year reign as the world's most expensive keeper - following his £32.6m move from Parma to Courtois' switch from Chelsea to Real Madrid was reportedly worth about £35m - but some of that may have been add-ons. Defenders Manchester United's £80m signing of Maguire in 2019 remains the world record fee for a on the list is the £77m Manchester City paid for Croatia full-back Gvardiol in Dijk's £75m move from Southampton to Liverpool sits third, with Wesley Fofana's £70m switch from Leicester to Chelsea not far Munich's signings of Hernandez from Atletico Madrid (£68m in 2019) and De Ligt from Juventus (£65.6m in 2022) are next. Midfielders The most expensive midfielder is Argentine Fernandez after his £107m move to Chelsea on 1 February second place is Coutinho, who cost Barcelona £105m when they signed him from Liverpool in then there's the four-way £100m Premier League tie - with Caicedo, Wirtz, Rice and is Pogba's move from Juventus to Manchester United (£89m) in 2016 and Bellingham's move to Real Madrid for an initial £88.5m. Forwards Neymar and Mbappe's moves to PSG in 2017 make them the two most expensive players, let alone forwards, ever for a combined £ Madrid's £113m move for Benfica forward Felix in 2019 is third in all among forwards is the £107m Barcelona paid Atletico for Griezmann, also in 2019, then Lukaku's £97.5m move from Inter Milan to Chelsea in record for total career transfer fees is Santos forward Neymar's £326.2m, with Napoli's Lukaku close behind on £324.5m.
BBC News
13-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'A no-brainer for Liverpool to bring in this level of talent'
Hungarian football expert Bence Bocsak says Liverpool see new signing Armin Pecsi as a "potential future number one goalkeeper".Pecsi, a nominee for the 2025 Golden Boy award, made 30 appearances for Puskas Akademia last season as they finished second in the Hungarian top flight, before the 20-year-old's move to Anfield was confirmed last week."You only have to look at the Golden Boy nominations to see how big a prospect he is," Bocsak told BBC Radio Merseyside's Chris Coughlin."It's a no-brainer for Liverpool if you can bring in this level of talent. When you look at his stats, he's prevented 14.33 goals during the whole of last season - remarkable statistics for a goalkeeper. If you can bring him in for this amount of money, it is a really good deal for Liverpool."He's still only 20 years old. Everyone I've spoken to about him has spoken really highly of his character and mentality."Despite the departure of Reds number two goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher this summer, Valencia's Giorgi Mamardashvili will join the club in July to compete for the number one shirt with established first choice Alisson."It will be a big change going from being first choice at one of the biggest clubs in Hungary to probably being third choice at Liverpool and playing for the under-21s, but I think it is a challenge he's very much prepared for," Bocsak added."Mentally he knows he's in it for the long term - it is a big picture move for him. I think £1.5m in this modern era is nothing for any player, let alone a 20-year-old who is this highly rated."Liverpool have done really well because there were some other big clubs sniffing about. There were a lot of big European clubs interested but Pecsi chose Liverpool because he really liked what they sold him and, from what I understand, they do see him as a potential future number one goalkeeper."Listen to the full chat on BBC Sounds
New York Times
11-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Ajax leading race to sign Liverpool goalkeeper Viteslav Jaros on loan
Ajax are leading the race to sign Liverpool goalkeeper Viteslav Jaros on loan. The Premier League champions are allowing the 23-year-old to leave this summer after he made just two appearances last season. A number of clubs across Europe have expressed a strong interest in taking Jaros for the 2025-26 campaign and talks are ongoing as all options are considered. Advertisement Ajax, who are now managed by former Liverpool assistant John Heitinga, hope to bring in the Czech Republic international as they continue to rebuild following a late collapse in the race for the Eredivisie title. Heitinga knows Jaros well after spending a season at Anfield during the title-winning campaign. Jaros made one Premier League appearance when he replaced the injured Alisson in a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in October. He was keen to play regular football last season but was kept around as the third-choice goalkeeper to provide cover. Liverpool have revamped the goalkeeping department this summer by selling Caoimhin Kelleher to Brentford. Giorgi Mamardashvili will return from a loan spell at Valencia to start pre-season with the first team, and fellow new signing Armin Pecsi, 20, will compete with Harvey Davies, 21, to provide backup.
