Oscar-winning director Paolo Sorrentino is developing an intimate portrait of legendary Italian soccer coach Carlo Ancelotti, going behind the scenes of his five-decade career and culminating in the 2026 World Cup this summer as he coaches Brazil’s national team. 

Rumors around the untitled documentary have been circulating on Italian sports blogs for weeks but the project has now been confirmed.

The Carlo Ancelotti documentary taps into Sorrentino’s passion for football previously seen in his Oscar-nominated semi-autobiographical film The Hand of God (2021), in which he explored his Neapolitan youth and a family tragedy through the lens of football and the arrival of Diego Maradona in the local team.

It marks his first documentary in a 30-year career featuring Oscar-winning film The Great Beauty, hit series The Young Pope, and most recently La Grazia, starring Toni Servillo as a president meditating on complex moral and personal questions in the final days of his mandate, which opened Venice last year.

Born into a farming family in Reggio Emilio, Ancelotti began his career as a midfielder for local club Parma, then played for Roma and AC Milan. He moved into coaching in the early 1990s and has since coached 11 clubs, including Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid; won 26 trophies and five Champions Leagues.

The documentary will intertwine archive images of his life with recent images shot in Italy, Spain and Brazil as well as in the U.S. during the upcoming World Cup. 

“It’s an honor to tell my story alongside the great Paolo Sorrentino. I’ve always admired his masterpieces and his commitment to artful storytelling,” said Ancelotti of the project. 

The film is produced by Francesco Melzi d’Eril, producer of Guadagnino’s Suspiria, Bones and All and Call Me by Your Name, for MDE Films; Chloe McClay, Celia Babini and Buck Andrews at Tart Productions and Gabriele Moratti for MeMo Films. Eric Beard for Where is Football is Executive Producer, and the production is in association with Fremantle and The Apartment. 

FilmNation is selling the project. Screen was the report to the news of the production and sales sales acquisition.