Ancelotti rips up Brazil blueprint: Raphinha handed '9' role after Endrick fiasco

A change of course in the Seleção camp

Carlo Ancelotti is ripping up his original plan. Heavily criticized for Brazil's dismal showing in their last outing, the Italian coach has changed the tactical setup entirely ahead of the second friendly against Australia, according to SPORT.

The headline change: Barcelona winger Raphinha is being deployed as the '9', a movement that owes a clear debt to the formula Hansi Flick has perfected at club level — a fluid, false-nine approach that gives creative wide men license to roam through the middle.

The Endrick experiment is over

The shift comes after the so-called Endrick fiasco. The young striker's struggles to impose himself in the number nine role have forced Ancelotti to look elsewhere, and the decision to hand Raphinha a more prominent central role represents a significant demotion for the teenage forward.

Ancelotti has also introduced a new midfielder in the revamped setup, signaling that he is willing to make bold calls rather than persist with what has not worked. The message from the camp is clear: results matter, and the reputation of the five-time world champions is on the line.

Whether the Barcelona man can translate his club form into international production remains to be seen, but the experiment against Australia will offer the first real glimpse of Ancelotti's Brazil 2.0.