How veteran coach Carlo Ancelotti's move from Real Madrid to Brazil got awkward

Carlo Ancelotti is swapping Real Madrid for Brazil in one of the biggest moves in world football. The problem is, neither he, nor Madrid, want to talk about it.

- AGENCIES

As coaching switches go, they don't come any bigger than this.

But when news broke Monday that Ancelotti was leaving the sport's most successful and iconic club team to take charge of its most successful and iconic national team, there was an awkward silence.

Madrid chose to ignore the announcement by the Brazilian soccer federation and was still to publicly acknowledge it 24 hours later.

There was silence, too, from Ancelotti, who didn't even provide a quote for his new employer when it published its official statement.

That left an uncomfortable vacuum until Ancelotti finally confirmed his departure during a scheduled news conference on Tuesday, which he only took part in because he was supposed to preview Madrid's upcoming match against Mallorca.

"If I didn't have this news conference today it would have been a fantastic day. But in this news conference I have to explain things that I don't want to explain," the Italian coach said.

Bad timing?

Becoming coach of record five-time world champions Brazil should be among the proudest moments of Ancelotti's career. He will be the first foreign coach of Brazil at a World Cup — taking charge of the team of Pele, Ronaldo and Neymar; and the most iconic yellow jersey in football.

But even for Ancelotti — who is famed for his cool demeanor on the sideline, cigar smoking and the odd raised eyebrow — his reaction has been understated.