World Cup winner Varane backs ex boss Ancelotti to lift Brazil

HONG KONG - French World Cup winner Raphael Varane has backed his former Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti to lift Brazil out of the doldrums when the Italian takes over at the helm of the five-times World Cup winners later this month.

Ancelotti was named Brazils first permanent foreign coach last week and will start in his new role on May 26 on a contract that runs through to next years World Cup finals.

The five-times Champions League winning coach will lead the country into Junes South American qualifiers, and 2018 World Cup winner Varane believes Ancelotti has the pedigree to reinvigorate the squad following recent struggles.

What I can say is that in football, in national teams, its about being at the top level with a very short period of time to prepare yourself to perform, Varane told Reuters on the sidelines of the Hong Kong Soccer Sevens.

So its a different challenge that youre facing from the day-to-day with a club.

But I think if youre capable of winning trophies like the Champions League, and if youre capable of raising your level for big games, then youre capable of doing it anywhere, at any time.

I think Carlo is a great coach. He has a lot of experience, so he knows how to prepare the players to perform at the right time.

Thats the difficult thing. You have to meet with history. Every time (at the World Cup) its only one chance, so you cant miss many opportunities. I think at the top level he knows how to do it.

The former defender knows Ancelotti well after they shared two seasons at Real Madrid in the Italians first spell in charge and together they won the Champions League in 2014, one of four continental crowns Varane collected at