Rangers are facing serious questions over the future of Russell Martin, and in Scotland Davide Ancelotti has quickly resurfaced as a name linked with the Ibrox bench.
The Italian, who was in the final stages of the Rangers process before Martin was appointed, is currently in charge of Botafogo in Brazil, but his spell there has turned complicated and controversial.
That’s encouraged Rangers rumours to start again.
Just this Wednesday, Botafogo hosted newly promoted side Mirassol and seemed set for a comfortable win. They raced into a 3-0 lead by half-time, only to collapse in the second period and concede three goals in the space of 15 minutes.
The final whistle was greeted with fury inside the Nilton Santos stadium, with loud boos directed at players and staff alike. The episode intensified criticism of Ancelotti, who was already under fire after elimination to Vasco in the Copa do Brasil and a poor defeat to São Paulo – three tough defeats in less than two weeks.
Supporters expressed their frustration in many ways. One viral comment described how Ancelotti “builds a perfect team, crushes the opponent, scores three goals and in the second half decides to give space for the opponent to play”, before adding in irony: “do a DNA test, because this guy isn’t really Ancelotti’s son.”
Influential club figure Pedro Certezas was equally harsh, stating on social media that “the feeling is Davide Ancelotti is actually ‘un-training’ the team. Week after week we see a gradual and calculated worsening. One game it’s a loss of chemistry, then no finishing, then no passing exchanges, and so on.”
Brazilian pundits have also been unimpressed. On television, Carlos Eduardo Mansur remarked that the coach is “still searching for something convincing”, highlighting that most of his so-called ‘starting XI’ players still don’t have a defined role in the system after 17 games.
Club insider outlet Fogão.net went further, writing that “players are being damaged by the Davide Ancelotti effect,” and pointing out the “salad of positions” imposed on footballers who have been used as midfielders, wingers and centre-forwards in quick succession.
A separate column in the same outlet called for “energetic measures” against the coach, suggesting Botafogo cannot allow him to take decisions alone.
Ancelotti himself, however, has been careful not to criticise his squad. Speaking after the Mirassol collapse, he explained: “Oscillating so much is a question of mentality. At the first sign of adversity we didn’t react well. Today we didn’t have a good reaction. Against São Paulo, we played really badly. The image we need to keep in mind is the one from the first half.”
Despite the uproar, Botafogo owner John Textor is not preparing to dismiss the coach, which would impact any Rangers chances. According to UOL, Textor was irritated with the performance but believes patience is needed.
He has praised Ancelotti’s ability to shield the dressing room from off-field disputes involving the club’s ownership and expects the 36-year-old to recover. To date, Ancelotti has 17 matches in charge of Botafogo, with seven wins, five draws and four losses.
With Russell Martin under severe scrutiny in Glasgow after a poor domestic start and a 9-1 aggregate defeat to Club Brugge in Champions League qualifying, it is little surprise that Ancelotti’s name has come back into the debate. But his own position in Rio de Janeiro is far from secure, meaning the next few weeks could be decisive on both sides of the Atlantic.
