The coach who lost his job due to a dispute with Neymar will now send him to the national team
Dorival Junior will replace temporary Fernando Diniz after Carlo Ancelotti’s promise ended with his extension at Real Madrid.
Dorival the Youngerone of the technicians with the most titles in Brazilian football, was confirmed this Wednesday as the new rider of the Canarinha and will have to deal with again Neymarwith whom he had a scandalous dispute that cost him his post as coach of Santos in 2010.
His mission will be to turn around a team that sits sixth in South American qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and which suffered three straight defeats last year, something that had not happened for two decades, and which suffered its first defeat. playing at home in the qualifying round, precisely against his eternal rival Argentina.
He will also have to face a team that won’t be able to count on an injured player. Neymar at least until August, so they will play this year’s Copa America without Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, who has been their biggest star in recent years.
One of the tasks Dorival the Younger will be to reduce the so-called “dependence on Neymar” Brazil and start updating the team, which is already starting to gain weight for the 2026 World Cup. Vinicius Junior And Rodrigo and to which such a young player as Endrik was called up.
The relationship between the new coach and Brazil’s biggest star has been estranged since September 2010, when Santos terminated his contract after an argument with a player he prevented from taking a penalty. Dorival the Younger as a technician.
The Saints He chose to agree with NeymarHe was 18 years old at the time and had to leave the coach with whom he had won two titles and a Libertadores quota and who had a record of 37 wins and 8 draws in 61 games.
In various interviews, the coach was full of praise when describing the player, but said that Neymar could have achieved more success in his career if he had taken it more seriously.
The new 61-year-old coach, the nephew of Olegario Toloa “Dudo” de Oliveira, Palmeiras’ idol in the 1960s and 1970s, has been chosen throughout his career in Brazilian football.
His record includes three Copa Brazil titles and one Libertadores title, but most notably at the last two clubs he managed: Flamengo and Sao Paulo.
With Flamengo taking over in mid-2022 to replace the Portuguese Paulo Sousa, he became Libertadores and Copa Brazil champions that year, but despite his successful results, the leaders did not renew his contract.
In April last year, he took charge of Sao Paulo instead of Rogerio Ceni and, once again becoming the champion of the Brazilian Cup, managed to revive the discredited team.
In addition to its three Copa del Rey titles and the Libertadores title (Flamengo 2022) Dorival the Younger He has a Brazilian second division title with Vasco da Gama and a South American title with Internacional.
He also holds regional titles as coach of Atlético Paranaense (2020), Internacional (2012), Santos (2010 and 2016), Coritiba (2008), Sport (2006) and Figueirense (2004).
As a player Dorival He played as a midfielder and began his career in 1982 with Ferroviaria. He then passed through the clubs Marilia, Guarani, Avai, Joinville, San Jose, Coritiba, Gremio, Juventude, Matonense and Botafogo Sao Paulo.
He retired from football in 1999, at the age of 37, and began his coaching career with Ferroviaria in 2002. Since then, he has led twenty Brazilian clubs, including such giants as Palmeiras, Flamengo, Sao Paulo, Cruzeiro, and Vasco. da Gama, Santos and Atlético Mineiro.
His career took a break in 2019 when he battled prostate cancer through surgery.