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

Amid Growing Pains Brazil Wonders When It Will Bridge Gap Between Emerging and Emerged

Many economists and scholars recognize the change Brazil is going through, but very few ...

Missing US Teen Found Safe in Salvador, Brazil

Mykensie Martin, 17, an American exchange student who was missing since last weekend, was ...

A U.S. Foundation to Save Olinda, a Brazilian Treasure

The city of Olinda, a small historical town in Brazil, which is practically integrated ...

Brazil’s Internet Surfer Population Reaches 39%

In a surprising result for many, the number of Brazilians who have access to ...

Brazil Starts Work of Identifying Victims of Air France’s Flight 447

Airlines worldwide are scrambling to replace plane speed sensors on a number of Airbus ...

Brazil Gives in Paris a Few Fashion Lessons

Printemps Haussman, the main store of Printemps, the famous French chain of department stores ...

100 Million Brazilians Vote. 100% by Computer.

Brazil’s Federal Electoral Court’s (TSE) computerized voting system is ready for voting to begin ...

Towns Gold Built

When Americans and Russians started to explore outer space, we gave Marshall an old ...

Cover Story Brazilians on the move

Brazil used to be a country that received immigrants from around the world. Now, ...

In Brazil the Economic Climate Index Is Hot (7.8), LatAm’s Hottest

Economic Climate Index (ECI) of Latin America, developed between the German Ifo Institute from ...