Nike and Puma Had Coach Parreira as Hostage, Say Brazilian Fans

Brazil returned home from the World Cup on Monday, June 3, to little fanfare, and coach Carlos Alberto Parreira escaping out a back door to avoid fans and the media.

Brazil’s 1-0 defeat to France in Saturday’s quarterfinal left most Brazilians with a feeling of resignation rather than anger. Only a few supporters even bothered to turn up to jeer the squad on its return.

"I would have preferred not to have a scored a goal and to have come home a champion," said midfielder Gilberto, who netted in the 3-1 group-stage win over Japan. "For me, (my goal) didn’t do very much."

Gilberto was the only player cheered by fans at the airport and one of the few to talk to the press.

Later, Parreira held a press conference at the Brazilian Soccer Confederation headquarters and said he regretted the loss as much as anybody else.

"No one here wanted to be champion of the world more them me," he said.

On his future as coach, Parreira said he would only discuss that after talking with confederation president Ricardo Teixeira.

Asked whether Real Madrid defender Roberto Carlos was to blame for the hole in Brazil’s defense which allowed the winning goal, Parreira said, "We’re not going to look for a scapegoat where one doesn’t exist. We lost and France won. If no one made any mistakes and everyone was perfect all games would end 0-0."

Most fans, however, were quick to pin all the blame on Parreira.

Jorge Ganem, a 55-year-old lawyer, said Parreira didn’t use his bench more because of contractual obligations to sponsors.

"Look what Parreira’s done, he had a great bench but he didn’t use them because he’s beholden to Nike and Puma or whoever," Ganem said.

Many younger Brazilians couldn’t remember the team coming home before the final.

Pravda – www.pravda.ru

Tags:

You May Also Like

At Brazil’s Government Pharmacy Condoms Are 85% Off

The list of pharmaceutical products sold through the Ministry of Health’s Community Pharmacy program ...

Who Killed Janjão?

What helped us was no magnanimous, humanitarian feeling from local authorities. No respect for ...

After Mexico’s Success Brazil Considers Selling 100-year Bonds

The Brazilian government is thinking about selling 100-year bonds after Mexico succeeded in offering ...

Brazil’s Big and Small Companies Want a Deal with Arabs

Three hundred Brazilian companies are participating in business roundtables with importers from Iraq, Jordan, ...

Brazil, First to Test in Space Germination of Tropical Plant

Brazilian researchers may better understand the biological processes of plants after the trip that ...

Brazilian President Wants Europe to Invest in Biofuel in Africa

The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, defended three-sided cooperation so as ...

LETTERS

By When the first accusation appeared in the ’50s that the museum was being ...

Who Killed Brazil’s Man in Iraq? George Bush.

One correspondent for the Folha de S. Paulo daily, playing the role of Grand ...

Brazil Posts Again a Trade Deficit

Brazilian exports totaled US$ 3,228 billion and imports, US$ 3,387 billion, resulting in a ...

Without Arraes, Brazil’s Left Is Completely Orphaned

Without Leonel Brizola, without Luis Carlos Prestes, without Darcy Ribeiro, without Celso Furtado, without ...