Dorival Junior will replace interim Fernando Diniz after Carlo Ancelotti’s promise with his renewal for Real Madrid ended.
Dorival JuniorOne of the technicians who has won the most titles in Brazilian football, was confirmed this Wednesday as the new driver of Canarrinha and will have to work again neymarwith whom he had an infamous dispute which resulted in him losing his position as coach of Santos in 2010.
Their mission will be to straighten out a team that finished sixth in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and suffered three consecutive defeats last year, something that had not happened in two decades, and which would have been difficult if played on home soil. Had to face its first defeat. A qualifier, of course, against its eternal rival argentina,
He will also have the mission to compete against a team that will not be able to rely on an injured player. neymar At least until August, so they will play this year’s Copa America without the Saudi Al Hilal player who has been their biggest star in recent years.
definitely one of the challenges Dorival Junior The so-called “Neymar-dependence” of brazil And begin to renew a team that is already beginning to weigh in for the 2026 World Cup Vinicius Junior And rodrigo And in which a young player like Andrique has been called.
Relations between the new coach and the biggest Brazilian star have been distant since September 2010, when, after an argument with the player, whom he prevented from taking a penalty, Santos terminated the contract. Dorival Junior As a technician.
Saints he preferred to agree neymarThen he was 18, he had to keep the coach with whom he had won two titles and Libertadores quota and who had a record of 37 wins and 8 draws in 61 games.
In separate interviews the coach was not complimentary when describing the player, but said that Neymar could have been more successful in his career if he had taken it more seriously.
The new coach, 61-year-old and nephew of Palmeiras icon Olegario Toloi de Oliveira “Dudu” of the 1960s and 1970s, was chosen for his entire career in Brazilian football.
His record includes three Brazilian Cup titles and one Libertadores title, but most notably at the last two clubs he took charge of: Flamengo and São Paulo.
With Flamengo, who took over from Portuguese Paulo Sousa in mid-2022, he was champion of the Libertadores and Brazilian Cup that year, but, despite his successful results, the leaders did not renew his contract.
In April last year he took charge of Sao Paulo from Rogerio Ceni and managed to revive a disgraced team as champions of the Brazilian Cup.
In addition to its three Copa titles and Libertadores title (Flamengo 2022), Dorival Junior He has one second division Brazilian Championship title with Vasco da Gama and one title from the Recopa Sudamericana with Internacional.
He also has regional titles as coach of Atlético Paranaense (2020), Internacional (2012), Santos (2010 and 2016), Coritiba (2008), Sport (2006) and Figueres (2004).
As a player, Dorival He worked as a midfielder and began his career with Ferroviaria in 1982. He then went through the São Paulo clubs Marília, Guarani, Avaí, Joinville, São José, Coritiba, Grêmio, Juventude, Matonense and Botafogo.
He retired as a footballer in 1999 at the age of 37, and began his career as a coach with Ferroviaria in 2002. Since then he has managed twenty Brazilian clubs, including giants such as Palmeiras, Flamengo, São Paulo, Cruzeiro, Vasco. Da Gama, Santos and Atlético Mineiro.
His career came to a halt in 2019 when he overcame prostate cancer thanks to surgery.