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

World Bank Helps Brazil Help Haiti

Brazilian Chancellor Celso Amorim and the World Bank’s vice-president of Foreign Relations, Ian Goldin, ...

Brazil Needs US$ 31 Billion to Finance Crop

Brazil’s Superior Council of Agriculture and Livestock Raising (Rural Brasil), integrated by representatives of ...

Brazil Ready to Tap Amazon for Drugs and the Land for Fuel

Ahead of US President George Bush's visit, Brazil announced plans to invest almost US$ ...

Economy: Brazil Down to 15. Behind India.

From 1998 to 2003, Brazil fell from the 8th to the 12th position among ...

Brazil Hires Google and YouTube to Help Promote Brazilian Tourism

Brazilian tourism agency Embratur and Google have just launched a tool to promote Brazil ...

Rice and Lula Discuss Brazil-US Ethanol Joint Efforts

US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, arrived in Brazil on Thursday, March 13, for ...

Culture Shock

In movies, plays, music, art, and literature, the Brazilian culture continues more alive than ...

A Portrait in Contrast

A new United Nations study shows that it is enough for someone to leave ...

Roasted coffee: that's where Brazil will find the money

World’s Largest Coffee Producer, Brazil Needs to Learn Art of Roasting

In 2006, Brazil consolidated its position as the world’s largest producer and exporter of ...