Pep Guardiola would be an ideal coach for Brazil as his style of play would benefit the likes of Neymar and Vinicius Junior, according to Julio Cesar.
Brazil are on the hunt for a new boss with Tite leaving the role after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and Guardiola has been linked with the position.
The Catalan is under contract at Manchester City, who he could lead to Premier League glory on Sunday, until June 2023 but has previously expressed a desire to move into international management.
Julio Cesar thinks he would be a great fit for the Selecao as his possession-based approach would help Brazil's most talented players.
"He has all the qualities to do it. He is one of the best in the world, his style of play is very Brazilian," Julio Cesar told Stats Perform courtesy of Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
"Everyone knows that Brazilian players love to keep the ball; the majority of them also play in Europe and they are learning to play better on the pitch.
"We have so much quality on the Brazilian national team: Neymar, Raphinha, [Lucas] Paqueta, Vinicius Junior. All these players are very talented and having a manager like Guardiola would give these players the opportunity of playing the ball more.
"Every player would love to work with a manager like him. It wouldn't be a bad idea, although we also have really good managers in Brazil. He is a big name in the football world and it wouldn't be a bad thing having him representing our national side. I like the idea."
Tite's only previous World Cup campaign with Brazil ended in a quarter-final defeat to Belgium in Russia four years ago.
He steered the Selecao to Copa America glory in 2019 but they were unable to defend their title two years later, with Argentina defeating them in the final.
Julio Cesar already believes Tite will leave a lasting legacy but has no doubt that leading Brazil to glory in Qatar would achieve him an even higher status.
"This is what the World Cup gets you, it will level you up. If you can bring the World Cup to Brazil, you can leave with your head held high, you have done your job," he said.
"He won the Copa America in 2019, he got to the final again against Argentina. He did very well so far, even in the [World Cup] qualifiers he got first place ahead of Argentina.
"He can leave with his head held high, but winning a World Cup with Brazil will take him to the top."
Messi says MLS points record secondary as Miami face Toronto
Lionel Messi says breaking the single-season MLS points record is a secondary concern for Supporters' Shield winners Inter Miami as they approach the playoffs.
Miami clinched their first Supporters' Shield triumph by beating the Columbus Crew – the reigning MLS Cup holders – 3-2 on the road on Wednesday, with Messi scoring two goals including a wonderful free-kick.
With two games remaining in the regular season, versus Toronto on Saturday and the New England Revolution two weeks later, Miami could yet set a new points record for the league, with two victories enough to overhaul the Revs' 2021 mark of 73 points.
Messi, however, says achieving that feat will mean nothing if the Herons cannot back it up in the postseason.
"The points record is secondary, the main thing is what is coming up with the playoffs," Messi told Apple TV after Miami's Supporters' Shield triumph.
"First, we have a best-of-three series, but then it's elimination games and anything can happen.
"We have a big advantage now, being able to play at home. We are very strong at home, but still have to prove we can win."
Toronto, meanwhile, are on the verge of being eliminated from playoff contention following their 4-1 midweek defeat to the New York Red Bulls.
John Herdman's Reds currently occupy the final wild-card place in the Eastern Conference, but Saturday's game is their last of the campaign while all of their direct rivals have two more to play.
That means Toronto must beat Miami and pray for favours from elsewhere to keep their season alive, leaving Herdman to lament his team's tame display on Wednesday.
"It was not good enough, there was no excuses. Not good enough with the setup and not good enough on the pitch," Herdman said.
"Even as a tactical staff, not being able to find the right solutions... We've got to own this, the whole group.
"It was a team that was too passive, in a game where we had to be strong, we had to have character, personality, fight. It just wasn't there, in big moments under pressure."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Toronto FC – Prince Osei Owusu
Owusu scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season against the Red Bulls on Wednesday.
No Toronto player has scored 10 goals in a single regular season in MLS since Alejandro Pozuelo (12) and Jozy Altidore (11) both did so in 2019.
Inter Miami – Lionel Messi
Messi's two goals on Wednesday took him to 32 goal contributions this season (17 goals, 15 assists) despite playing just 17 league matches in 2024.
The Argentine great is averaging 2.02 goal contributions per 90 minutes this season, on pace to shatter the record of 1.62 set by Carlos Vela in 2019 (min. 1000 minutes).
MATCH PREDICTION – INTER MIAMI WIN
Since the beginning of the 2021 season, Inter Miami have recorded eight wins in nine meetings with Toronto in all competitions (one defeat).
The only MLS team to record more wins over another in that time is the LA Galaxy over the San Jose Earthquakes (nine).
Toronto suffered their 18th defeat of the regular season in midweek. This is the fourth straight campain in which the Reds have lost at least 18 times, making them the first team in MLS history to have four consecutive seasons with 18 or more defeats.
Miami, meanwhile, are unbeaten in nine matches in MLS, winning five and drawing four, scoring 21 times during that run.
On their travels, they are unbeaten in four matches since the Leagues Cup break, winning two and drawing two, while also plundering 10 goals in that span. Unless they take their eye off the ball ahead of the playoffs, expect a similar result here.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Toronto FC – 19.9%
Inter Miami – 59.1%
Draw – 21%
City striker 'Bunny' Shaw targets more success with hopes of inspiring young girls in Jamaica
Despite achieving much of what she set out to already, Reggae Girl and Manchester City striker Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw intends to keep pushing the barriers and she hopes to inspire others to chase their dreams.
Shaw, who has overcome her fair share of obstacles and tragedies to get to where she is at, has been a role model for young athletes in Jamaica and the Caribbean, particularly aspiring women’s football players, as she continues to impress on the international stage and in the Women's Super League (WSL) since her move to City in 2021.
The 27-year-old ended last season as the WSL’s top scorer, assisting the Gareth Taylor-coached side to the runners-up position behind champions Chelsea, merely on goal difference.
Her performances throughout that campaign, which was cut short by a broken leg, also saw her cop the PFA Women's Players' Player of the year and the FWA Women's Footballer of the Year awards.
"When I look back at my childhood, I didn’t really have a lot of people I could look to, apart from Usain Bolt, of course. I didn’t have a lot of people who I could look to and say, ‘I want to be like that.’ One of the main reasons was that I wasn’t really allowed to play," Shaw said in an interview with BBC Sport.
“Now, looking at where the game is and where it is going, I think there is more room for that. For me, it’s just being alive and being in the moment. It’s staying true to who I am. Hopefully, by doing that each and every day, it works out in the end,” she added.
Black History Month in England, celebrated throughout the month of October, continues to shine a spotlight on athletes who have broken barriers to achieve success.
With her accolades and accomplishments speaking for themselves, Shaw is aiming to continue setting the standard for others to follow.
"I just try to be the best I can be and hope that by doing that, there are others looking on [who can] see that if I can do it, then it’s possible. Hopefully I can inspire a lot of the young girls back home in Jamaica that it is definitely possible,” the two-time Ballon d'Or award nominee shared.
"It’s been a long journey for me. I had to travel around the world to get here. Now I am here, I’m just embracing the moment and loving every part of it. The ups and downs are parts of life and that’s how you grow as a person. But I just try to be the best that I can and hopefully inspire more girls,” Shaw noted.
Guardiola has to 'take care' of Man City superstar Haaland
Pep Guardiola took off Erling Haaland against Slovan Bratislava to "take care" of Manchester City's superstar striker.
Haaland scored in the 58th minute to make it 3-0 to City in Slovakia on Tuesday.
He was taken off two minutes later, to be replaced by James McAtee, who went on to score his first City goal and round off a 4-0 Champions League rout.
With focus now switching back to the Premier League, and Saturday's clash with Fulham, Guardiola explained the substitution was made to protect the striker, who has already netted 10 goals in England's top flight this season.
Asked if Haaland had been frustrated to be taken off, Guardiola told City's media channels: "Erling is never disappointed with his manager.
"As a manager I am more secure and more happy when Erling is on the pitch.
"I will keep him on the pitch all the time but at 0-3 the game was almost over and with this amount of games we have to take care of him.
"He had a big knock in the last game against Newcastle [United] so that's why, after the fantastic goal with the pass from Rico [Lewis], it was better [to take him off]."
There was a moment of drama during Fulham's 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest last week, after Raul Jimenez took a penalty off the club's designated taker Andreas Pereira.
Jimenez went on to score the penalty, but Marco Silva was not happy.
He said: "It's clearly the fault of Raul. It is not going to happen again.
"Has Raul apologised? Yes. He had to because he knows the rules and how important discipline is in our squad."
City are unbeaten in their last 29 Premier League games (W23 D6), and if they avoid defeat in this match it will equal their longest run without defeat in their league history (30 games between April 2017 and January 2018).
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Manchester City - Erling Haaland
Haaland has scored 60 goals in just 52 games in all competitions at the Etihad Stadium for Man City. He is already the fourth-highest goalscorer at the ground since it opened in 2003.
Fulham - Andreas Pereira
Only Everton's Dwight McNeil (21) has created more chances than Pereira in the Premier League this season (20).
Five of these chances have been for Rodrigo Muniz, who has had more shots on target without scoring so far than any other player in the Premier League this term (five).
MATCH PREDICTION: MAN CITY WIN
City have drawn their last two Premier League games despite opening the scoring in both (2-2 v Arsenal, 1-1 v Newcastle). The last time they failed to win three consecutive league games despite scoring first in each was in December/January in 2003-04 (D2 L1).
Since losing their opening Premier League game of the season 1-0 at Manchester United, Fulham are now unbeaten in their last five (W3 D2). They last had a longer run without defeat in the competition between August and October 2010 (seven).
Three of Fulham’s four Premier League wins against City have come at the Etihad Stadium (2006, 2008 and 2009). However, they are winless in their last 18 against them in the league (D3 L15), losing each of the last 13 in a row.
City have won each of their last 16 meetings with Fulham in all competitions, the longest winning run one English league side has had against another in history.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Man City - 72.6%
Fulham - 11.5%
Draw - 15.9%
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