Tite rejects South Korea’s proposal, and Ecuador’s interest does not advance

Officially out of the Brazilian national team for less than a month, Tite has been the target of teams that played in the World Cup in Qatar. The coach turned down a proposal to train South Korea and aroused interest from Ecuador in recent weeks, but the two conversations did not advance.

Tite does not want to work in the first half of 2023. He has as goals a period of rest with his family after six years in the Brazilian national team and the treatment of a chronic knee problem. After that, the focus is on trying an opportunity in European football.

KOREA AND ECUADOR WITHOUT TECHNICIAN

Eliminated by Brazil in the round of 16 of the Cup, the South Korea team has been without a coach since December. The Portuguese Paulo Bento resigned on the day of elimination after four years.

Tite was sought to lead South Korea in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and the Asian Cup between June and July this year. The team has not won the local tournament for over 60 years. Tite’s manager, Gilmar Veloz, was offered a four-year contract. The technician thanked him, but decided not to accept it.

Ecuador’s selection still fell in the first phase of the World Cup, in the group in which the Netherlands and Senegal qualified. Ahead of the team since 2020, with fourth place conquered in the Qualifiers, Argentine coach Gustavo Alfaro was fired after the Cup. Interestingly, Alfaro is a friend and admirer of Tite.

Ecuador sought information on the market about Tite, such as salary and coaching staff formation. The idea was also a four-year contract focused on the 2026 World Cup, but the urgency of the response to start work as early as March and the numbers involved in the operation cooled the possibility.

TITE IS WILLING TO WORK IN EUROPE

To people close to him, Tite has said for some time that after the Brazilian national team he wanted to work in European football. The desire was independent of what happened at the World Cup, as the decision that he would not continue as a CBF employee had been taken since the turn of 2021 to 2022.

The coach’s preference is Spain, Italy and Portugal, countries where he dominates the language and would not have communication problems. The deadline for not working until the middle of the year also has to do with this, since that is when the European football season ends and clubs go to the market to look for coaches and new athletes. Working in Brazilian football in the second half is not something discarded, but it is not plan A either.

Despite the reasoning about opening up the market in Europe, Tite’s priority is the sabbatical period. The coach is resting and taking time away from football with his family. In recent years, he headed a technical commission that worked from Monday to Friday at CBF, established a routine of remote assessments and face-to-face observations.

Another focus of Tite is recovering from osteoarthritis in the knee. He retired from playing as a player aged 28 after back-to-back operations on his knee, which has been a chronic problem. When there is overload, especially if the trainer gains weight, there is pain and impaired movement. The family doctor wants to take advantage of the break in his career to recommend surgery to place a prosthesis on his knee. Tite is 61 years old.