CNN
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Carlo Ancelotti, one of the most decorated coaches in soccer, will be the new manager of Brazil, the country’s federation announced Monday.

The 65-year-old, who is currently the manager of Spanish giant Real Madrid, will start his new role on May 26 after the conclusion of the La Liga season, according to the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).

“He is the greatest coach in history and now he is leading the greatest national team on the planet. Together, we will write new glorious chapters for Brazilian football,” Ednaldo Rodrigues, president of the CBF, said in a statement.

Ancelotti has won 15 trophies over two spells at Real Madrid, including the La Liga and Champions League double last season.

However, the club looks likely to finish this season without a major trophy and was beaten 4-3 by fierce rival Barcelona in El Clásico on Sunday.

Real Madrid’s last league game of the season is on May 25, the day before Ancelotti officially starts his new job.

Speculation is rife that current Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso – who announced that he was departing the German club at the end of the season and played for Los Blancos under Ancelotti in his first spell at the club – is set to take over for the legendary Italian.

Meanwhile, Brazil is currently ranked fifth in the world but has failed to impress during recent tournaments.

The Seleção was beaten by Croatia in the quarterfinals of the last World Cup in 2022, a tournament won by rival Argentina, and also disappointed in last year’s Copa América after being knocked out by Uruguay in the quarterfinal stage.

The team’s last manager, Dorival Júnior, was sacked in March after a run of bad results which left Brazil in fourth place in CONMEBOL’s World Cup qualifying table.

“Bringing Carlo Ancelotti to lead Brazil is more than a strategic move. It is a statement to the world that we are determined to reclaim the top spot on the podium,” Rodrigues added.

As an Italian, Ancelotti will be the first foreign coach of the Brazilian national team, according to the CBF.

In its statement, the federation called its incoming manager an “icon” and thanked Real Madrid for allowing Ancelotti to leave his contract early – it was due to run out in 2026.

Madrid is yet to comment publicly about Ancelotti’s future.

Ancelotti’s first game as Brazil manager will be against Ecuador in early June, before his team faces Paraguay later that month.

The main focus, though, will be on next year’s World Cup which is set to be co-hosted by Mexico, Canada and the US.

CNN
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Virat Kohli, one of India’s greatest ever players, announced his retirement from Test cricket on Monday.

“It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket. Honestly, I never imagined the journey this format would take me on. It’s tested me, shaped me, and taught me lessons I’ll carry for life,” Kohli wrote on Instagram.

“There’s something deeply personal about playing in whites. The quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no one sees but that stay with you forever. As I step away from this format, it’s not easy – but it feels right. I’ve given it everything I had, and it’s given me back so much more than I could’ve hoped for.

“I’m walking away with a heart full of gratitude – for the game, for the people I shared the field with, and for every single person who made me feel seen along the way. I’ll always look back at my Test career with a smile.”

After making his Test debut for India in 2011, Kohli quickly became one of the most proficient batters in world cricket.

He scored his first Test hundred in Adelaide, Australia, in 2011 before becoming captain of the team shortly afterwards.

During his time leading India, he had 40 wins from 68 Tests, making him the winningest Indian men’s captain in the five-day format.

The 36-year-old retires as the fourth-most successful Test captain in terms of wins behind South Africa’s Graeme Smith (53) and Australia’s Ricky Ponting (48) and Steve Waugh (41).

Outside of his captaincy, Kohli was a potent run-scorer for the Indian Test side.

He retires with 9,230 runs from 123 Tests to his name, including 30 centuries and 31 fifties at an average of 46.85. His 30 centuries are the fourth-most by an Indian player.

Kohli had already retired from the T20 format of cricket, having done so after India won the T20 World Cup last year.

Kohli’s decision comes just days after India’s Test captain Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the format.

CNN
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The Indiana Pacers emphatically pushed the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers to the brink of playoff elimination with a dominant 129-109 win to take a 3-1 series lead.

After a chastening 22-point defeat at home in Game 3, a determined Pacers squad flew out of the gates and was 15 points up after the opening quarter.

By the end of the second quarter, the lead hit 41, tying the largest halftime lead in NBA playoff history. The Pacers’ 80 first-half points also set a new franchise playoff record for points scored in a half, per Reuters.

The Cavaliers had no answer for Indiana’s blistering offense and their hopes were further dashed when star guard Donovan Mitchell was forced to sit out the entire second half with an ankle injury.

Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson, who said Mitchell will undergo an MRI on Monday, candidly described Sunday’s game as “complete domination” by the Pacers.

“It’s kind of the story in every facet. It wasn’t like tactics or anything. They dominated us in every facet of the game,” he said.

The Pacers were without Bennedict Mathurin, a consistent source of points off the bench in this series, for most of the game after he was ejected for a flagrant 2 foul in the opening quarter.

Three Pacers players scored at least 20 points; Pascal Siakam had a joint game-high 21 to go with six rebounds, Miles Turner had 20 and seven rebounds, and Obi Toppin had 20 points.

In total, seven Pacers players scored in double figures.

“We haven’t done anything yet,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said, per the Associated Press. “We’re going to keep approaching this like we have everything to prove. We know people don’t believe in us, so we’re just going to stay in the fight and keep fighting.”

However, it was another quiet night for Tyrese Haliburton, who had just 11 points on 3-of-8 shooting after scoring just four points on 2-of-8 shooting two nights earlier.

For the Cavaliers, Darius Garland led the way with 21 points to go with six assists. Mitchell finished with 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting before getting subbed out.

The series moves to Cleveland for Game 5 on Tuesday where the Pacers can book their ticket to a second straight Eastern Conference Finals appearance.

“Don’t believe the hype. Keep rollin,’” Turner told TNT after the game.

“We got punched in the mouth last game. We had a hell of a response, the stars set the tone and the bench picked it up the rest of the game.”

The Oklahoma City Thunder earned a 92-87 road win over the Denver Nuggets to tie their series at 2-2.

It was a game mostly bereft of offensive quality as the two teams began by combining for just 25 points in a grueling first quarter that ended 17-8 to Oklahoma City.

But the experienced Nuggets gradually improved somewhat to take an eight-point lead early in the fourth quarter. However, an 11-0 run from the Thunder turned the game on its head and Denver never led again.

“We fought. We stayed the course, and then we closed the game,” Thunder star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said, per AP.

The leading candidate in the Most Valuable Player race, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 25 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Nikola Jokić, Gilgeous-Alexander’s rival to be crowned MVP, had 27 points, 13 rebounds and four steals on the night.

Game 5 is in Oklahoma City on Tuesday.