 |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
Romario dreams Champion Brazil set to end 2002 without a coachPosted: Monday December 30, 2002 1:33 PMUpdated: Monday December 30, 2002 5:57 PM RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -- Brazil are set to end 2002, the year they won an unprecedented fifth World Cup, without a national team coach. The South Americans have yet to find a replacement for Luiz Felipe Scolari, who stepped down in early August, five weeks after leading his team to seven straight wins at the Japan and South Korea tournament. Brazil have played two friendlies since, losing 1-0 at home to Paraguay in Scolari's farewell match and then winning 3-2 away to South Korea. Veteran Mario Zagallo, who led Brazil at the 1970, 1974 and 1998 World Cups, was brought back for that game as a tribute. Although the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has a reputation for making important announcements out of the blue, nobody is expecting Scolari's long-term replacement to be named on the last day of the year. But the world champions are running out of time. The road to Germany 2006 is expected to start next August to allow time for South America to fit in its marathon qualifying tournament in which the 10 teams play each other twice. And with FIFA having reduced South America's World Cup slots to four, the contest will prove tougher than ever for Brazil, who have often found the qualifying competition harder work than the World Cup itself. CBF president Ricardo Teixeira had been hoping this year's Brazilian championship would point him in the right direction but its outcome has not helped him in the least. The competition was won by a young Santos team brilliantly coached by Emerson Leao - who was unceremoniously sacked by Teixeira in June 2001 after only eight months in charge of Brazil. Not again Asked if he wanted the Brazil job back, Leao -- who learned of his dismissal as he was about to board a flight at Tokyo airport after the Confederations Cup -- replied: "No, not with him [Teixeira] in charge." The other obvious candidate would have been Carlos Alberto Parreira, whose Corinthians team won the Rio-Sao Paulo tournament and the Copa Brasil and finished as runners-up to Santos in the Brazilian championship. But Parreira has already tasted life in the Brazil hot seat, having led the victorious 1994 World Cup team, and has made it clear he would be reluctant to go through the experience again. That has left Sao Paulo coach Oswaldo Oliveira as many people's favorite, although his club had a frustrating season this year. Brazilian media have not ruled out a comeback opportunity for Vanderlei Luxemburgo, who was sacked in disgrace following the Sydney Olympics just over two years ago. Luxemburgo was later grilled by a Congressional commission of inquiry over his tax returns, who told him that his income was not compatible with his profession and his answers to the origins of his money had not been convincing. Luxemburgo, famous for wearing expensive jewelry and designer suits on the touchline, would also begin his second term with a new name and different date of birth, making it the ultimate in fresh starts. After being fired by Brazil, he admitted that for most of his career he used a fake birth certificate which made him three years younger than his real age and misspelled his first name as Wanderley. Romario still dreams of playing for BrazilRIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -- Romario, who turns 37 next month, says he still dreams of playing for Brazil again. "While I'm still playing, I will always dream of playing for the national team," Brazilian media reported him as saying on Monday. "But after missing out on two World Cups and two Olympic Games, I don't let it get to me any more. Whatever comes along from now will be a bonus." The striker has had a bittersweet international career since leading Brazil to victory at the 1994 World Cup, when he scored five goals. He missed the 1998 World Cup because of a nagging calf muscle injury and was left out of the squad in 2002 by Luiz Felipe Scolari, even though many fans still considered him to be Brazil's best striker at the time. Not even a tearful public plea from Romario could soften Scolari's heart. Romario was also left out of the 1996 and 2000 Olympic squads, depriving him of a chance to improve on the silver medal he won in Seoul in 1988. Romario, whose 15 goals in the Brazilian championship helped modest Fluminense to the semi-finals, made his comments at Rio de Janeiro airport as he returned from a holiday in Jamaica. Romario said he had not decided where he would play next as his six-month contract with Fluminense ended this month. "I hope to sort it out quickly because I miss playing football and I want to keep playing," he said.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
