Luiz Felipe Scolari says he can’t become Brazil’s coach — at least not yet
Reporting from Cape Town, South Africa, and Durban, South Africa — Luiz Felipe Scolari, the man who coached Brazil to its fifth World Cup triumph at the South Korea/Japan tournament in 2002, said now is not the time for him to take over as coach of the Selecao for a second time.
Someday, though, it might be possible.
“It would be wonderful to finish my career coaching a national team in the World Cup in Brazil” in 2014, Scolari, 61, told Brazil’s radio Eldorado. “But I won’t be able to accept any offers until after 2012.”
Scolari, who also coached Portugal to the final of Euro 2004, is under contract to coach Palmeiras in the Brazilian league for the next two years.
Scolari was mentioned by the Brazilian media as a possible candidate to replace Dunga, who is stepping down as Brazil’s coach following its quarterfinal elimination by the Netherlands.
Former AC Milan coach Leonardo, who played for Brazil’s 1994 World Cup winner, is now being talked about as a potential replacement for Dunga.
The Brazilian team arrived back in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo by chartered plane on Sunday. Some players were greeted with cheers, but midfielder Felipe Melo, who was red-carded in the quarterfinal loss to the Dutch, was the target of a few insults.
Robin van Persie OK for semifinal
Dutch striker Robin van Persie has largely overcome a left elbow injury and will be able to play against Uruguay in Tuesday’s semifinal in Cape Town, a team spokesman said.
But defender Diego Lugano, Uruguay’s captain, might miss the match because of a ligament injury in his right knee. Lugano trained on Sunday but remains doubtful.
“It’s complicated, because the time between matches is so short now,” he said. “But I was lucky enough to be able to train and run in straight lines, which is very favorable.”
Van Persie also trained Sunday, but separate from the other Dutch players so as to avoid physical contact on the elbow.
Cristiano Ronaldo says he has a son
Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who had an indifferent World Cup, scoring only one goal as the Portuguese were ousted in the second round, said Sunday that he has become a father.
Ronaldo, 25, said a woman he declined to identify had given birth to their son.
“It is with great joy and emotion that I inform I have recently become a father to a baby boy,” he announced on his social media sites. “As agreed with the baby’s mother, who prefers to have her identity kept confidential, my son will be under my exclusive guardianship.”
The world’s most expensive player, who joined Real Madrid from Manchester United last year for $132 million, asked the media to respect the family’s privacy.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha reported on its website that the mother is an American and that the baby was born last month. Ronaldo has homes in Los Angeles and Miami.
Fabio Cannavaro moves to Dubai
Fabio Cannavaro, the defender who was captain of Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning team, has joined Al Ahli, champion of the United Arab Emirates, but he said the reason for the move was not financial.
“It wasn’t an economic choice, it was a family choice,” said Cannavaro, who also played on the Italy team that failed to advance out of the first round at South Africa 2010. “Here [in Dubai], there’s not as much pressure as in the leagues I’m used to and I would like to help the younger players gain from my experience.”
Cannavaro, 36, has played for Napoli, Parma, Inter Milan, Juventus and Real Madrid and represented Italy 136 times. He was the world player of the year in 2006.
grahame.jones@latimes.com
kevin.baxter@latimes.com
Jones reported from Cape Town and Baxter reported from Durban.
