Ancelotti’s Gum Count Steals the Spotlight in Brazil Debut

During his debut on June 6, Brazil’s head coach Carlo Ancelotti chewed a total of eight pieces of gum in the 0–0 draw with Ecuador—six in the first half and two in the second—captured by journalist Carlos Gil of Globo Sport. This peculiar statistic quickly outshined the game itself.

The match took place at Ecuador’s Monumental Banco Pichincha stadium in Guayaquil. While Brazil displayed a disciplined defensive structure, it lacked creativity in the final third—an observation Ancelotti admitted in his post-game comments. “We had good order and pressure but didn’t generate many clear chances,” he noted.

The gum-chewing caught significant attention, especially since the Italian had quit smoking years ago. In an interview with Jorge Valdano, Ancelotti revealed that gum replaced cigarettes as his stress-relief method. Brazilian media highlighted the incident, suggesting nerves may have influenced his tone on the sideline.

Despite the focus on this quirky detail, Ancelotti chose to emphasize substance over novelty. He stressed the defensive resilience and maintained focus on upcoming challenges. Brazil’s next test comes on Tuesday against Paraguay—a match where he expects the team to take a more assertive approach in attack.