Carlo Ancelotti, the coach of the Brazilian national team, has been subjected to heavy criticism from the Catalan press in recent hours. It has been suggested that he is helping Real Madrid and resting the club’s players, while putting significant pressure on Barça’s players during the current training camp in Brazil.
Ancelotti decided not to call up Vinicius Junior and Eder Militao from Real Madrid to give them a chance to rest. However, he called up Rafinha and included him in the recent match against Chile, which the Seleção won 3-0.
Ancelotti also plans to rely on Rafinha for the match against Bolivia. The weather there is known to be difficult, as the match is played at approximately 4,100 meters above sea level in the Andes Mountains.
Sport newspaper considered Ancelotti’s actions to be a clear show of favoritism toward Real Madrid, his former club, and to be seen as deliberately tiring out Rafinha, one of Barcelona’s most prominent and important players, given that neither the match against Chile nor Bolivia is of great importance.
Sport believes that Rafinha deserved to be rested and not be so exhausted, and that Ancelotti’s treatment of him is a “scandal” revealing that the Italian is serving Real Madrid even after his departure from the Santiago Bernabéu.
The Catalan press is generally angry because of reports from Brazil that Ancelotti intends to change the entire squad for the match against Bolivia, yet the only player he intends to include from the starting lineup is Rafinha.
