Ancelotti influence key for Endrick development, say Dida and Cafu

Carlo Ancelotti’s player management can turn Real Madrid’s Endrick into a “great player”, according to Brazil’s World Cup winners Dida and Cafu.

Endrick arrived in the Spanish capital from Palmeiras in July in a deal reportedly worth €60million, signing a six-year deal with the 15-time Champions League winners.

The 17-year-old has scored two goals in nine appearances across all competitions this season, though he has only featured for 107 minutes across those games.

But Ancelotti has shown his faith in young players during his tenure with Los Blancos, with the likes of Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo all developing under his stewardship.

Cafu, who made 119 appearances for Milan under Ancelotti, believes Endrick has the right man to guide him through the early stages of his promising career.

“Ancelotti is a great coach, and he is really good at developing young players,” Cafu told Stats Perform at Festival dello Sport in Trento, Italy.

“He’s really good at managing them, he understands them and knows when it’s the right time for them to play or when they need to stay on the bench.

“For someone like him he will be like a father who will give the right advice.”

Te amo Brasil vamos juntos sempre!! pic.twitter.com/J1WdHz2ADv

— Endrick (@Endrick) June 9, 2024

It was a sentiment echoed by Cafu’s former Milan team-mate Dida, who hopes he can become an important player for Brazil ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

“We all know Carlo [Ancelotti], he knows how to manage all the champions,” Dida added.

“He knows how to make these kids grow even if they are already in an important team.

“And that is certainly something very nice for [Endrick], we hope he does well because he is a Brazilian who will surely do well with the [Brazil] national team.

“I hope that our national team always works with this type of players and we hope that Carlo, as always, does his job.”

Endrick was picked for the Brazil national team for the first time in November 2023, becoming the youngest male player to secure a senior call-up since Ronaldo Nazario in 1994.

He netted his first goal for his national side in a 1-0 win over England at Wembley back in March this year, scoring again three days later in an entertaining draw with Spain.

Endrick was also part of Dorival Junior’s squad for the Copa America.

After three substitute appearances in the group stage, he made his first start for Brazil, replacing Vinícius who was suspended for their quarter-final against Uruguay.

However, he struggled during the contest, completing just one pass during the match, from kick-off, as they crashed out on penalties to Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

Though showing only glimpses of what he can become, Cafu believes the sky is the limit for Endrick.

“Endrick can become a great player. He’s young and has enormous potential and can grow a lot,” Cafu concluded. “With Ancelotti as a manager, I’m sure he can become a top player.”