January 7 – A four-time world champion and the first person to win the World Cup as both a player and a coach, Mario Zagallo has died at the age of 92. As a player, Zagallo won the World Cup in 1958 and 1962, as a coach in 1970 and as a technical director in 1994. His immense success was …

January 8 – No Carlo Ancelotti and now no more Fernando Diniz. Brazil and their returning president Ednaldo Rodrigues have dismissed their interim manager after a run of poor results.  The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said in a statement that Rodrigues informed Diniz (pictured), who split his duties between Fluminense and Brazil, that he wanted to “advance the process of …