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Karl
Senior Member
USA
914 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 04 2004 : 6:07:11 PM
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Parreira: “Only people with dreams can reach their goals"
4 October 2004
by FIFAworldcup.com
In 1994, Carlos Alberto Parreira led Brazil to World Cup glory and promptly bowed out as national coach. Since January 2003, the 61-year-old has again been coaching the Selecao and triumphed in the Copa America in Peru in July 2004. Parreira reflects on his career, Brazil and football now as well as in the future.
You first took a seat on the bench as a head coach 30 years ago with the venerable club, Fluminense Rio de Janeiro. Does this round figure mean anything to you?
***Yes, it is a memorable anniversary. But at that time it was only a five-month stint with Fluminense. Then I worked as a physical fitness trainer, as I had done from 1968, until 1979, when I became head coach of Kuwait. Altogether, I have spent 36 years in football.
How did you first become involved in football?
***That’s not difficult in Brazil, where football is the be all and end all. I remember as a child the euphoria that erupted round the first World Cup title in 1958. We didn’t stop celebrating for days and the team came back home to an amazing nationwide festival. It was very exciting.
So you thought you might become a footballer too.
***Not a footballer, but the Brazilian national team’s fitness trainer at that time left a deep impression on me. I remember thinking: that’s what I want to do one day. That may sound like a dream but that’s the way it is – first you have to dream before you can reach your goals.
Did you only dream or did you also plan ahead?
***I didn’t plan to become a coach. That just happened.
How do you mean?
***I took a kind of sport teacher’s course at university, visited places like Germany and England, studied for my coaching licence and then worked as a fitness trainer with a third-division club in Brazil for almost a year. In 1968, when I was 24 years old, the Brazilian government appointed me as coach for Ghana, despite my lack of experience. The African Cup of Nations was being played that year and Ghana reached the final. The whole atmosphere grabbed me and has never let go since.
What does football mean to you?
***Football has been my life ever since I was 14 or 15 – in fact, since the 1958 World Cup. My family, my friends – everything is steeped in football. Football for me is fun but it is also a duty.
Did you have a favourite club or hero as a child?
***Fluminense was my club. I didn’t have a special hero, but I admired Pele and Garrincha. It was a sheer delight to watch them play.
And Mario Zagallo, who has always been part of your work with the Selecao?
***Zagallo is one of the best coaches I have ever seen. There is no-one who can hold a candle to him in world football. He is the most all-round player and coach I have ever met. He is simply the best. Zagallo has the most comprehensive record of any professional footballer in the game. He has been world champion four times, as a player, coach and coordinator. It is a privilege for Brazil’s national team to have him as a technical director.
You led Brazil to FIFA World Cup glory in 1994 and then resigned as national coach. Why?
***The best thing that can happen to you after winning the World Cup is to win it again. And defending the title is extremely difficult. And then there was unbearable, almost inhuman pressure bearing down on me because Brazil had not won it since 1970. My god, that was mentally and physically exhausting for years, even during the qualifiers for the World Cup! Winning the World Cup simply meant that I had accomplished my mission. I suddenly felt a ton weight drop from my shoulders.
So why did you make a comeback in January 2003?
***The post of national coach was vacant for a few months after Brazil’s win in 2002 and after Luiz Felipe Scolari stepped down. Then the association’s president, Ricardo Teixeira, contacted me and offered me first the position of coordinator and then of coach. Initially, I didn’t fancy either of the jobs. Things went backwards and forwards for a while. Many people, including Zagallo, urged me to become national coach again. In the end I said, “OK, it’s the best job in the world. What else do I want?”
Is there no longer any pressure to succeed?
***The pressure’s still there; you always feel it as Brazil’s national coach but it is nowhere near as great as it was in 1994.
Your contract with the Brazilian football association, CBF, expires after the 2006 FIFA World Cup™. Will you be giving up coaching completely then?
***Parreira: I could well imagine working for a club again after the 2006 World Cup. I still feel the exhilaration, the burning ardour that you need to keep you going. But I am also conscious of the fact that I can’t keep doing the work in the frontline forever. Whatever happens, I shall always be faithful to football in one way or another.
What is your fondest footballing memory?
***I have several fond and lasting memories – not just winning the 1994 World Cup title but also the league title with Fluminense in 1984, finishing second in the league championship with Bragantino and Corinthians and winning the Asian Cup with Kuwait. And of course, winning this year’s Copa America in Peru with a young team devoid of superstars. I have reached my goals. But the World Cup triumph ten years ago will probably be remembered as the greatest achievement of my life. Well, so be it.
Are there any sad memories in your coaching career?
***Failing to qualify for the 1986 World Cup with the United Arab Emirates. We lost the home leg against Iraq 3-2. But we still thought we had a chance in the second leg because Iraq were not allowed to play at home because of the Iran-Iraq war and so the game was held in Saudi Arabia. We were leading 2-0 with only ten men until the 90th minute – it would have been enough. But Iraq scored a last-minute goal and so went on to the World Cup finals in Mexico. That was a very sad day.
You lived for a long time in the Middle East. How do you explain the recent football boom there?
***That’s because of the infrastructure there. They have invested in good players and coaches. But what they haven’t got – and what money cannot buy – is the raw material: the quality and quantity of players. That can only be improved or increased gradually with wise investment. That has already been achieved in South Korea and Japan and in China they are busy doing just that. The same applies here – good investments reap good rewards.
Are you happy with the standard of international football at the moment?
***Football has made enormous progress both on and off the field. Firstly, small fortunes have been ploughed into it and, secondly, it is a much faster game than before. Players must be much better trained, physically, mentally and technically. There are many more all-rounders than before. Footballers are much fitter than 30 or 40 years ago and have to play more intelligently. Space on the pitch is forever diminishing as speed increases. Unfortunately, there are so many more fouls now. FIFA should be thinking about how good players could be better protected in the future. But more competitions are taking place than ever before. I welcome that fact and I am pleased to see that the game is constantly improving.
So you’re not one of the many prominent critics who fear that the ever growing influence of money and television will lead to a drop in standards?
***If money is distributed fairly, I can’t see a problem. No sport can survive today without funds from television and sponsorship. We have to accept the situation and make the best of it, not fight it. Without money from television, for instance, football in the USA doesn’t stand a chance against sports such as baseball. Even in Brazil, clubs wouldn’t survive without this income.
Do you think there is one outstanding player or team in the world today?
***That is a difficult question to answer. It is like judging art. Who is better – Monet or van Gogh? Or composers – who can judge? Football also has varying performances and styles. But brilliant footballers such as Ronaldo, Zidane or Ronaldinho could play in any team. As for teams, Brazil have been one step ahead for the past ten years, although France were a very good team at the end of the 90s.
Brazil didn’t make it to the World Cup final for 24 years after 1970. Since then the national team has qualified for the final three times in a row and won it twice. What has changed?
***Parreira: The reason was never a lack of players or infrastructure in the association. The root of the problems was human relations. There were often crossed wires between players, coaches and the association. But the wonderful Brazilian teams in the 80s often used to neglect defensive tactics. There was no balance between attack and defence.
How do you see the future of Brazilian football?
***Very promising – and there are good reasons for this. I never fail to marvel at our mine of talent. Brazil is in the very enviable position of being able to send 200 or 300 players abroad every year without feeling the draught at home. Why is that? Because there are another 300 waiting to take their place. Or rather, we have enough numbers to bring out the talent. Another reason is that clubs spend more time scouting for talent than a few years ago and, above all, concentrating on nurturing the players. So Brazil will always have a pool of outstanding footballers. How would you describe the prospects?
Other teams are training for the 2006 World Cup. But we are already peering into the distant future. Brazil took part in the Copa America in Peru in July with a very young squad whose goal is the 2010 World Cup – and the team won the tournament! As you can see, we already thinking one step ahead.
PROFILE -
Born: 25 March 1943 in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
Career as coach: 1967: Sao Cristovao, assistant coach.
1967–1968: Ghana national team, head coach.
1968: Asante Kotoko FC (Ghana).
1969: Vasco da Gama, assistant coach.
1970: Brazilian national team, fitness coach.
1971–1974: Fluminense, assistant coach.
1972: Brazilian Olympic team, technical director and assistant coach.
1975: Fluminense.
1976–1977: Kuwait national team, technical director.
1983: Brazil national team, head coach. 1984: Fluminense. 1985–1988: United Arab Emirates national team, head coach.
1988–1989: Saudi Arabia national team, head coach.
1990: United Arab Emirates national team, head coach.
1991: Bragantino.
1991–1994: Brazil national team, head coach.
1994–1995: Valencia FC.
1995–1996: Fenerbahce Istanbul.
1996: Sao Paulo FC.
1996–1997: New York MetroStars.
1998: Saudi Arabia national team, head coach.
1998–2000: Fluminense.
2000: Atletico Mineiro and Santos.
2001: Internacional Porto Alegre.
2001–2002: Corinthians.
Since January 2003: Brazil national team, head coach.
Honours: World champion 1970 (assistant coach) and 1994 (head coach). Copa America winner 2004. Asian Cup winner 1980 and 1988. Gulf Cup winner 1982. Brazilian league champion 1971, 1973, 1975, 1984. Brazilian cup winner 2002. Turkish league champion 1996. Ghanaian league champion 1968. Miscellaneous: Parreira is married with two daughters (27 and 31). Hobbies: music, painting, fishing and cooking.
As of 31 July 2004
This article first appeared in FIFA Magazine |
Karl |
Edited by - Karl on Oct 04 2004 8:26:04 PM
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Carlos Alberto Parreira
