Brazil coach-in-waiting: Corinthians' Adenor Leonardo Bacchi

SAO PAULO (AP) The man many expect, or want, to be Brazil's next coach isn't shy about his ambition.

Adenor Leonardo Bacchi wants the job.

He wants to take over from Dunga following the 2018 World Cup in Russia, though he knows coaching changes can happen unexpectedly.

If the position was to suddenly become vacant, Bacchi, known universally as Tite (pronounced CHI-chi), has the credentials and conviction to step up.

He's just won the Brazil league with Sao Paulo-based Corinthians, he's studied tactics under former Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, and is putting a modern face on the Brazilian style.

''There is no one like Tite in Brazilian soccer today,'' says Eduardo Tega, who runs the Universidade do Futebol, a private coaching clinic in Sao Paulo.

''He can build good teams, he knows a lot about group management, and he believes in scientific methods,'' Tega adds. ''He has it all.''

He was among the favorites for the national coaching job after last year's World Cup flop under Luiz Felipe Scolari, but lost out to Dunga.

Like a lot of things in Brazil, politics were involved in the decision.

Tite won the Club World Cup in 2012 with Corinthians, defeating Chelsea in Japan, then took a year off after the 2013 season. He spent time studying in Madrid with Ancelotti, and agonized as a fan over Brazil's failure in the World Cup. At least one poll made him the top choice to take over the national team.

But when then-Brazilian federation president Jose Maria Marin picked Dunga, Tite moved back to his old job at Corinthians.

And he proved himself again. He injected a lot more strategy into a league which relies mainly on flair, and lots of goals.

''When I came back from Europe the expectation was high,'' Tite says in an interview with The Associated Press. ''I had to show that I developed abroad, which is not something that many Brazilian coaches can do. But now people see the improvements that modern studies can bring. Our performances have gone to a different level in the Brazilian league.''

It's still early days in World Cup qualifying for Brazil, and Tite is in a delicate spot. He can't be too outspoken.

''We have only one fantastic player, Neymar, and we have some great players,'' he says. ''The organization of a team is what makes it bloom, just like the World Cup-winning German side. Creativity and talent without organization is just a mess. But we can't lose the Brazilian touch.''

The federation is also in flux. President Marco Polo Del Nero is being pressured to resign, after he was one of 16 soccer officials indicted last week by the U.S. Department of Justice in a corruption scandal engulfing world soccer.

American and Swiss officials have snared the last three presidents of the federation, all of whom have been indicted: Del Nero, and his predecessors Marin and Ricardo Teixeira.

''Brazil needs to end corruption,'' Tite says, ''and I want that in my professional activities, too.''