Dorival Júnior was appointed Brazil coach in January after 22 years in management, taking in clubs such as Cruzeiro, Santos, São Paulo, Palmeiras and Flamengo. The 61-year-old’s first game in charge will be against England at Wembley on Saturday. Here he speaks exclusively to the Guardian about his hopes for the job, why the Seleção need to reconnect with the fans and the racist abuse suffered by Vinícius Júnior.
Dorival, first of all, tell us what it feels like to be the Brazil coach. Well, it’s hard for me to describe it. I’m very confident going into this job. I am confident because I’ve worked very hard to get to a place like this. I am not going to lie and I am not going to hide this feeling. I’ve always had great loyalty to my clubs and my teammates but I’ve also tried to prepare myself so that one day I might get a chance with the national team.
