February 16 – The CBF, the Brazilian Football Confederation, and coach Rogerio Micale are poised to part ways following Brazil’s failure to qualify for the U20 World Cup in South Korea. Micale coached the Brazilians to the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Brazil finished runners-up at the last U20 World Cup in New Zealand in 2015, but this time around will miss out on the finals in the Far East as they finished fifth in the South American U20 Championship, outside the qualifying slots. Brazil’s fate was sealed after two consecutive draws against Argentina and Colombia respectively.
In the run-up to the finals, Rogerio Micale had selected a strong squad in a bid to revive Brazil’s fortunes in the competition, following their failure to qualify for the U-20 World Cup in 2013 and their fourth place at the continental finals two years ago.
“We want to win the title and we want to qualify for the World Cup, because that’s the first step. There’s a series of key factors involved: educate, qualify and win,” said Micale. But Micale was unable to turn the tide. The Brazilian was at the Laureus Awards in Monaco as the news was disclosed of his departure at the CBF.
Micale led Brazil to an unprecedented gold medal at the home Olympic Games last summer. Brazil defeated Germany on penalties in a dramatic final at the Maracana stadium. Barcelona star Neymar converted the decisive penalty, the cue for delirious celebrations from the home fans.
Micale, who has always been a youth coach, is expected to seek a senior coaching role with one of Brazil’s top flight clubs.
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