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Speaking out Ex-Brazil coach vows to return to national team
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -- Former Brazil soccer coach Wanderley Luxemburgo, sacked last month after poor results and amid allegations of taking commissions on the sale of players, vowed on Sunday that he would one day return to the national team. In his first television appearance since being dismissed from the prestigious job, Luxemburgo said he had been treated as if he were a murderer and drug trafficker. "I will return to the Brazil national team one day and I will be a lot more mature than I am today," Luxemburgo told the Cartao Verde program on the Sao Paulo-based station TV Cultura. He appeared alongside his lawyer Marcos Malucelli and armed with a battery of documents which he said proved both that he was innocent and that he had been victim of blackmail. "I have been run over by a tractor. I was treated like a murderer and a drug trafficker for two months," he said. "I can't understand it, the way it was done. I just can't have so many enemies." Luxemburgo was fired at the end of September after a series of poor results with both the senior and Olympic under-23 teams. The latter was knocked out of the Sydney Olympics in the quarterfinals by nine-man Cameroon, depriving Brazil of a chance of claiming their first-ever Olympic gold. The senior team was beaten by both Chile and Paraguay in the World Cup qualifying competition, though they are still second in the table and seem certain to reach the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea. Luxemburgo has been replaced by former goalkeeper Emerson Leao, who makes his debut at home to Colombia next month. Luxemburgo's dismissal also came after he admitted that he owed money to the Brazilian taxman and amidst allegations from a former business associate, Renata Alves, that he had taken commissions on player transfers in his days as a club coach. Luxemburgo, who has vigorously denied the allegations, said he had been victim of a vicious campaign with assorted accusations against him being aired in Brazil's most influential magazines and television programs. "She (Alves) talked, talked, talked, talked, talked and talked and didn't prove anything and she won't prove anything," he said. "She has made fools of the media ... and she still hasn't presented any proof." When told that Alves had sent a fax to the studio, Luxemburgo at first refused to let the presenter read it out. Then he defied his accuser to send a document proving her allegations against him: "If she has this document, send it to the program and you can show it," he said. On various occasions, the camera focused on documents provided by his lawyer, including Luxemburgo's bank statements. Luxemburgo's lawyer said these proved his client's innocence and the allegation that he was being blackmailed. Luxemburgo then denied that he had come under pressure from team sponsors Nike to include certain players in his team. "Nike lost money with me," said Luxemburgo, referring to his decision to send Ronaldo, who has a lucrative individual contract with the sportswear giants, home early from a tour of Australia. "Nike never told me what to do." When Luxemburgo took over as Brazil coach in August 1998, he had an excellent record in club soccer behind him and was regarded as the ideal man for the job. By the time he was sacked, everything about him was being criticized, even including his habit of wearing designer suits on the touchline. Luxemburgo spent two weeks contemplating his fate on a farm in one of Brazil's remotest regions after being dismissed. He said he already has offers to return to club soccer. "I'm returning to football (soccer coaching) and if I'm doing this, then the best thing that can happen is the Brazil national team," he said, pointing out that both Tele Santana and Mario Zagallo had enjoyed more than one stint in the job. "I will not stop thinking about the Brazilian national team," he added. "You feel important, that you are doing something for your country."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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