Rilany Silva on her coaching journey and the Women's U-17 final | OneFootball

This Saturday (9), Brazil’s Women’s U-17 National Team will play the South American Championship final against Argentina at 7:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at Defensores del Chaco Stadium in Asunción, Paraguay. Brazil coach Rilany Silva spoke about the team’s preparation and looked ahead to the match.

“We approached this competition as six missions. This is our sixth mission. Since day one, every day we have lived May 9, so this date has been in the making for 32 days, and that has really strengthened this group,” she said.

“They are two teams with very different styles of play. We play in a much more combination-based and collective way, while Argentina plays more through transitions, counterattacks, and relies heavily on the physical strength of its team. I believe it will be a match between two different strengths, and maybe whoever moves the pieces on the board better at the crucial moment will have the advantage,” she added.

On the eve of the big match, Rilany gave an exclusive interview to CBF TV and discussed several topics, such as her transition from player to coach, last year’s fourth-place finish at the U-17 World Cup, her friendship with assistant coach Bia Vaz, among others. Check out the full interview:

TRANSITION FROM PLAYER TO COACH

Rilany had an extensive career as a player. As a center-back, she won two Copa América titles with the Brazilian National Team in 2014 and 2018, in addition to club honors with teams she played for, including: the Copa do Brasil (Santos, 2008), the Brazilian Championship (Ferroviária, 2014), the Portuguese Cup (Benfica, 2019), and a UEFA Women’s Champions League runner-up finish alongside Marta (2014, Tyresö).

She explained what that transition from the pitch to the touchline was like and how the desire to become a coach came about. In addition to Brazil’s Women’s U-17 National Team, Rilany coached Benfica’s and Corinthians’ youth teams and was assistant coach of Cruzeiro’s senior women’s team.

Brazil Women’s National Team, champions of the Copa América in Chile; Rilany wearing number 13Credits: Lucas Figueiredo/CBF

“I started thinking about it in the last two years (of my playing career). The real turning point came when I left Spain for Portugal. In Portugal, I was already helping more off the field, helping my teammates. I was always very attentive to the tactical side. And then a little seed started to grow: ‘Could it make sense for me to go in that direction?’”

“When I was with the National Team, in our conversations around the table after breakfast, lunch, snacks… Vadão (the coach) always said I had something that could connect me to this (being a coach), and I didn’t think it made much sense, but it ended up happening. It wasn’t something planned. When your life as a player ends, you think, ‘Now I’ll have weekends,’ but as a coach the routine is even tougher in terms of demands. Still, if I could choose again five years ago, I would choose the same thing.”

RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PLAYERS

In November 2025, during the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, FIFA published an article whose main focus was Rilany’s work with the Brazilian National Team and the players’ views on it. At the World Cup, she achieved the historic feat of taking Brazil to a semifinal for the first time ever.

One of the coach’s pillars is a good relationship between staff and players. Rilany said that this positive bond is built naturally and genuinely.

“I saw that article, I think it came out in November, if I’m not mistaken, and I only saw it much later, and I was really happy. It’s not something intentional, something I plan or want them (the players) to think about me. I just try to be genuine, and that ends up creating a good relationship. There is a great deal of respect, mutual admiration, and it ends up being something natural.”

Players hug Rilany while celebrating qualification for the South American finalCredits: Staff Images/CBF

4TH PLACE AT THE 2025 U-17 WORLD CUP

Reaching the semifinals and finishing fourth at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup was historic for Brazil. Until then, the country’s best result had been reaching the quarterfinals in 2010, 2012, and 2022.

Asked whether she was aware of the magnitude of the achievement, Rilany stressed that yes, it was a historic campaign, but that the whole team would have liked to end the tournament with a medal.

“After the World Cup, I arrived in Brazil and then immediately traveled to Thailand for a FIFA event, so I didn’t really experience the post-World Cup period or how impactful it was. As for the result, what stays with us, what marks me the most, is that we didn’t get the medal. We were so close to a historic feat, to a medal for the category.”

Brazil Women’s U-17 National Team finished fourth at the 2025 World CupCredits: Fabio Souza/CBF

“I understand the magnitude of making history, but I also understand that the Brazilian National Team is about trophies, medals, and when I say that people say: ‘No, you did something historic, why do you feel this way?’ Because I know how close we were, and it slipped away by a thread.”

“Those who lived the World Cup with us understand that, when I say we lost the medal, that really was the case because of the campaign we had, the way we were performing in the competition, the way that group came together, and we had no doubt we were going to achieve it. But football is played on the field, and what they built will never be erased from the world.”

FRIENDSHIP WITH BIA VAZ, ASSISTANT COACH OF THE U-17 NATIONAL TEAM

Rilany Silva and Bia Vaz have been friends for a long time. The two played together and have repeated the partnership as coaches. Before working with the Brazilian National Team, Bia was coach of Corinthians’ women’s U-20 team and Rilany was her assistant. With Corinthians’ U-17 women’s team, the roles were reversed.

Rilany was full of praise for her assistant coach on the U-17 National Team, who also coaches Brazil’s U-15 side.

“I’ve been inviting Bia for a year, ever since I arrived here (with the National Team). Because of her professional life goals, she felt it still wasn’t the right time to accept, and I always respected that. Before being the assistant coach of Brazil’s Women’s U-17 National Team and coach of the U-15 team, she is one of my best friends. I’ve played with Bia since 2010, so we know each other very well, and we built a relationship of great respect and admiration.”

Bia Vaz and Rilany hug after Brazil advanced to the South American semifinalCredits: Staff Images/CBF

“Bia is a truly fantastic human being, with a dreamer’s heart and an optimistic spirit. Like me, she also had her insecurities at the start of her coaching career about whether it made sense or not. When she became a coach, I was still a player, and when I got to know coach Bia at Corinthians, it only deepened the admiration I already had for her.”

“When I’m in doubt about something, she says: ‘That’s it, if you believe in it, let’s go,’ and vice versa. We support each other a lot. She’s a support system that I think anyone should have. Anyone who knows Bia knows exactly what I’m talking about.”

FIRST FINAL WITH THE NATIONAL TEAM

In the 2025 South American Championship, Brazil finished as runners-up. At the time, the second phase of the tournament was played in a final hexagonal format, in which the top three teams from each group in the opening phase faced each other, and the team with the most points was crowned continental champion.

In 2026, Conmebol changed the tournament format to include semifinals and a final. As a result, Rilany reached her first final with the Brazilian National Team.

The coach spoke about last year’s runner-up finish and how the team is approaching Saturday’s (9) clash with Argentina.

“Last year hurt a lot. I had just arrived at the National Team. The most important point, and something that doesn’t happen overnight, is understanding how little time you have to make this team play football, because they come from different cultures and schools of thought, and you have to get everyone thinking the same way. Last year’s campaign, where even unbeaten we didn’t win, made me rethink and review training sessions and matches.”

Brazil Women’s U-17 National Team, runners-up in the 2025 South American ChampionshipCredits: Nelson Terme/CBF

“Now, reaching the first final, with a better overview, a better understanding of the scenarios, of what they need, of how to reach them, of how to get through to them as quickly and effectively as possible, I think we come in better prepared than in the last South American Championship.”

“It’s a team with players who have a great capacity for reading the game, understanding, and absorbing information, and that makes our work much easier. It’s a combination of understanding the context, having matured as coach of the Brazilian National Team, understanding what is needed in the few days we are together, and having a group that gives an incredible response.”

“It’s hard to think about myself. I think about myself when it’s to correct something. When something doesn’t happen the way it should, I always look at myself and think, ‘What could I have done better?’ When things go well, I look at everyone who is here, who helps me, who shares the day-to-day and makes my work much easier. The nutrition, psychology, physiotherapy, and fitness staff make my work much easier. I really only have to think about the game and the strategies, because everything is ready. That integration makes me a better coach.”

Rilany Silva during Brazil’s semifinal clash with Chile in the South American ChampionshipCredits: Staff Images/CBF

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.