道格拉斯·桑托斯：我从未停止过相信
在几乎转投俄罗斯之后，道格拉斯·桑托斯又回到了巴西队，并且即将获得 2026 年国际足联世界杯的参赛资格。
过去十年间，道格拉斯·桑托斯几乎从未关注过巴西国家队的征召名单，因为他不想看到自己的名字出现在名单上，从而遭受失望。2016年，他作为替补球员参加了百年美洲杯，同年又随巴西队夺得奥运会男足金牌，看起来在巴西国家队的后防线上前途一片光明。然而，接下来的几个月里，他的潜力并未得到充分发挥，随着国际比赛日的到来，他的梦想似乎也离他越来越远。他希望通过在欧洲赛场上证明自己的实力来吸引更多关注，于是从米内罗竞技转会至汉堡。然而，在他效力汉堡期间，球队经历了队史最糟糕的时期之一，并首次从德甲降级。
道格拉斯在德国乙级联赛效力了一个赛季后，转会至俄罗斯球队圣彼得堡泽尼特。在那里，他成为了球队的常规首发球员，五次夺得俄超联赛冠军，并积累了相当数量的球迷，但巴西国家队仍然没有向他发出邀请。“当然，有时候你会觉得你再也不会被征召了，但我从未放弃希望。我一直在俱乐部层面努力训练，力求进步，保持稳定的发挥。所以当机会再次来临时，我已经做好了准备。”他告诉国际足联。这个机会在去年九月到来，卡洛·安切洛蒂将道格拉斯召入巴西国家队，参加2026年世界杯预选赛对阵智利和玻利维亚的比赛。这不仅结束了道格拉斯漫长的等待，也回报了他几个月前做出的决定。
2025年3月，道格拉斯凭借居留权获得了俄罗斯国籍，并被征召入伍，即将代表俄罗斯国家队首次亮相。然而，多里瓦尔·儒尼奥尔也将他列入了巴西队的临时名单，这让他看到了再次为巴西效力的希望。这位左后卫拒绝了俄罗斯的邀请，决定等待巴西的征召，放弃了有保障的选择，选择了充满不确定性的未来。“我一直非常尊重俄罗斯，因为我的职业生涯很大程度上是在那里建立起来的。但身披巴西战袍一直是我的梦想，所以这才是最重要的。我从小就看世界杯，梦想着为巴西国家队效力，这对我来说意义非凡，”他解释道。
Douglas' long-awaited return was marked with some style. The left-back was included in the starting XI and was one of the stand-out performers in Brazil’s 3-0 victory over Chile. A month later, he was called up once again for a round of friendlies, making the starting lineup in Brazil’s resounding 5-0 win over Korea Republic. In the two matches without him in this period, the Seleção lost to both Bolivia and Japan. On his return, Douglas drew plaudits for his composure, which he believes came from the confidence placed in him by Ancelotti. “They asked me to be the same player I had been at my club: competitive, defensively solid and ready to contribute in attack when needed. Ancelotti has a way of instilling confidence in his players. He talks a lot, explains what he wants tactically, but also gives us the freedom to play with personality,” he explained. Injury ruled Douglas out of the November friendlies against Senegal and Tunisia, but he remained at the forefront of his coach’s mind, with Ancelotti mentioning him as an example of a player making the most of his opportunities during an interview in London. Once recovered, he was back in the squad for matches against France and Croatia, starting both games.
Thanks to his recent record, Douglas is now widely expected to be named in Brazil’s World Cup squad, which will be announced on Monday, 18 May in Rio de Janeiro. When Ancelotti names his 26-man squad for the tournament in North America, it will be a full-circle moment for the player from Paraíba, who first followed the World Cup 24 years ago.
“My first clear memory is of the World Cup in [Korea/Japan] 2002. I was young and I remember watching the matches with my family, as well as the anticipation before each game. Brazil had a very special squad, with the likes of Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho. That really marked my childhood. I think that’s where my dream of wearing the Brazilian shirt at the World Cup was born,” he recalled.
When he looks back on the tournament he watched as an eight-year-old, Douglas cannot help but get emotional. “Seeing Ronaldo score both goals in the final, after everything he had been through, was really something. The team’s celebration, the whole country coming to a standstill, that all shows how big the World Cup is for Brazilians,” noted the left-back, who is already looking ahead to the group stage. Brazil will play in Group C, alongside Haiti, Morocco and Scotland. The African side, who Brazil will play in their opening game, look set to pose a particular threat. “Morocco have shown a lot of strength recently, Scotland are very physically intense and Haiti are sure to come in highly motivated, but Brazil always go in to compete at the highest level. If we stay focused from the very start, we have what we need for a great group stage,” he asserted.
小组赛过后，巴西能走多远？道格拉斯至今仍清晰地记得巴西第五次夺冠时在街头庆祝的情景，他对巴西第六次捧起奖杯充满信心。
“巴西球迷始终有理由相信我们。我们拥有天赋、经验和习惯大赛的球员。我们的目标是走得更远，战斗到最后一刻，争取第六座世界杯冠军奖杯。”在苦等九年之后，道格拉斯如今决心结束另一段漫长的等待：巴西时隔24年再次捧起世界杯冠军奖杯。