Father figure Carlo has a plan and will be prepared for Japan

I believe it is easier for players to understand Carlo’s methods because the true reality of football plays out behind the scenes

CAEAN COUTO/IMAGN IMAGES/REUTERS 

Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti also helps players off the pitch

29 Jun 2026 - The Guardian

Rodrygo

The 2022 Champions League semi-final. The Santiago Bernabéu. More than 60,000 fans in the stands, and Manchester City leading 1-0. I was on the Real Madrid bench when Carlo Ancelotti called me over and told me to get on the pitch, play aggressively and decide the match.

I stepped on to the field in the 68th minute. In the 90th minute, I equalised but we still trailed by a goal on aggregate. We restarted, and the next minute I scored again to force extra time. We won and the rest is history: another title for the club after beating Liverpool in the final. I bring up this moment to highlight how important coaches are to a team’s journey and how decisive they are in a player’s career.

I have a range of experiences as a player coached by Ancelotti. I believe it is easier for players to understand his methods because the true reality of football plays out behind the scenes rather than in front of the cameras. For the press and anyone outside the dressing room, it is hard to predict what he will do. It is natural for them to feel a bit lost trying to understand his mindset, as they might expect him to choose one path and he ends up taking another.

But make no mistake: his choices are always well considered, driven by a phenomenal coherence that stems from both the heart and mind of someone with deep tactical knowledge and a knack for managing group dynamics. As today’s game with Japan approaches, I believe all my fellow Brazilians will increasingly show their support for the Mister’s work.

Ancelotti is like a father figure to us. He is a man I admire immensely, as a coach and a person. He talks to us and offers guidance on matters on and off the pitch. Nowadays social media, YouTube channels, and film productions offering greater access to the inner workings of clubs and national teams reveal moments that football history used to keep secret or disclose only in articles and autobiographies published long after the authors had retired.

Even so, countless matters are handled within the privacy of locker rooms and meeting rooms. And it is in these environments that the greatness of mentors proves most decisive: in conversations about family life, in dialogues addressing dissatisfaction, and in the firmness shown when pointing out the right path to follow.

I remember the first coach who saw my potential, aside from my father – Eric Goes, a former footballer who still inspires me to reach the next level. I was six years old and playing with older kids in the street in Osasco, a city in the São Paulo metropolitan area. They were more than twice my age and trained at a local youth academy, but I was still too young for that.

One day, the academy coach stopped to watch our street game – what we call a “pelada”. After we had burned off all our energy on that makeshift pitch, he called me over, took my photo, and registered me for the municipal tournament as a player for the neighbourhood team, even though I was half the age of the other boys. That was when I realised my father was right: to thrive, I would have to face the biggest players and beat the best.

While in the Santos youth ranks, I used to watch the professional team and dream of the moment I would wear that jersey. The coach Jair Ventura pointed the way. He promoted me to the first team in 2017. Jair says he enjoys the human side of things, getting to know a bit about the players’ lives and aspirations. I mentioned one of my goals was to play for Real Madrid. He believed in the conviction of my words, and I began to get more opportunities. Dozens of matches later, by 2018, I received the offer.

During the buildup to the 2022 World Cup the Brazil manager at the time, Tite, called Ventura to discuss another player, and Ventura brought me up, describing my playing style and highlighting my strengths. Ventura says I was unique and that his only role was to launch my professional career. He uses the word “only” without realising that this “only” can mean everything. Some time later, I received my first call-up to the senior national team and remained part of Tite’s squad, culminating in my selection for my first World Cup in Qatar.

I recently met Luiz Felipe Scolari on SporTV, a Brazilian channel, in New York, and I understood why the 2002 World Cup-winning squad is referred to as the “Scolari Family”. Felipão treats players first and foremost as human beings, with all their virtues, flaws, potential, capacity for learning and unpredictable behaviours.

Throughout my journey so far, I have been guided by various top-level coaches, as well as people I respect and am grateful to such as Zinedine Zidane, Fernando Diniz, Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa. I am continuing my recovery with high hopes of joining Real Madrid under José Mourinho, a manager who has everything it takes to lead us back to winning trophies. It is impossible not to look forward to working with a professional known as “the Special One”.