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

Brazil Doubles Amazon Research Funds to US$ 57 Million

The Brazilian government plans to invest approximately US$ 57 million this year on scientific ...

Brazilian Surplus in 2006 Already Close to US$ 6 Billion

The US$ 1.217 billion trade surplus in the fourth week of February was more ...

Leônidas, the Black Diamond and the inventor of the bicycle kick

Brazil Has Been Dazzling in World Cups Since Leônidas in 1938

Whenever the Soccer World Cup is mentioned, the mind is boggled by moments of ...

Brazil Discovers Its Faces and Is Making Money Out of It

Cave paintings are on the ceramics produced by artisans from the city of Serra ...

New York’s Brazilian Weekend

Central Park’s Summerstage, in New York City, had the colors of Brazil this year. ...

Brazil’s Fish Story: Big Plans to Develop Amazon’s Aquaculture

Brazil's Amazon currently produces approximately 200,000 tons of fishery products – around 20% of ...

189 Brazilians Die in Federal Roads Alone During Carnaval, a Record

Brazil’s prolonged Carnaval weekend, which started on Friday and only ended at noon this ...

The Story of Higher Education in Brazil: Too Many Openings, Too Few Good Schools

Instead of the consumption of classes, education is a process of knowledge accumulation. But ...

Brazil Accuses US of Lying to the WTO on Amount of Farm Subsidies It Grants

The price of suspending the negotiations of the Doha Round in the World Trade ...

Varig’s Eleven: 11 Bidders Interested in Bankrupt Brazilian Airline

Eleven companies have shown interest in acquiring the routes, planes and offices of Brazil’s ...