Barça pressure Ancelotti to 'bench' Raphinha in the Bolivia-Brazil match

One of the national teams everyone is watching during the current international break is Brazil. The five-time world champion has changed coaches this summer, appointing Carlo Ancelotti as head of the senior squad, hoping to get back on the winning track.

The first matches under the Reggiolo coach have left very different impressions, but it's still too early to deliver a verdict. After all, at the end of this season comes the World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada (Estados Unidos, México y Canadá): that will be the real test for the former Real Madrid coach.

Carlo Ancelotti has been singled out in our country precisely because of his now-ended connection with the entity presided over by Florentino Pérez. The Italian coach has decided to leave Vinícius, Rodrygo, Militão, and Endrick in Spain's capital, with the latter still not recovered from the injury he suffered at the Club World Cup. Instead, he has decided to draft Raphinha for the matches against Chile and Bolivia.

Raphinha's presence in both matches, as one of the stars of FC Barcelona, has led many to see this decision as a move to weaken the culé team. While Raphinha is exposed to extraordinary wear and tear playing with Brazil, in somewhat more challenging conditions for playing soccer, the Brazilians from Real Madrid are still recovering "nice and easy".

Opinion without ambiguity

That's why some media outlets very close and sympathetic to the squad presided over by Joan Laporta have started to make a request: Carlo Ancelotti can't start Raphinha. The match against Bolivia will be played at Estadio Municipal de El Alto, known for the difficulties of playing the king of sports there... due to the altitude at which the venue is located.

Several of those media outlets hope "he gives a rest" to one of Hansi Flick's most outstanding pupils. Carlo Ancelotti's decision for the Bolivia-Brazil match on September 10, however, won't be influenced by any of those pressures and comments regarding his tactical choices.

The analyses of Raphinha's draft, in line with the absence of the Madridist Brazilians, leave a very clear verdict for the media sympathetic to FC Barcelona. The new Brazil coach has even been accused of carrying out a "management that clearly favors Real Madrid", a decision-making process described as "regrettable" and "shameful".

The pressures the Reggiolo coach is receiving to leave Raphinha on the bench in the match against Bolivia are once again surprising. While it's true that Brazil has achieved its qualification goal, this match in El Alto is another opportunity to keep testing his pupils ahead of the 2026 World Cup.