A Dramatic Turnaround for Brazilian
Here’s a true rags-to-riches story, World Cup-style:
Until the middle of last year, Brazilian defender Ze Carlos was playing for a provincial club that paid so poorly, he had to supplement his income with other jobs. Among his endeavors: selling watermelons and fixing cars.
But his life took a dramatic turn for the better when he caught the eye of Brazilian Coach Mario Zagallo, who included him on the team for a friendly game in March and planned to start him today against the Netherlands in the World Cup semifinals.
“I’m privileged,” Ze Carlos said. “God accompanies me and illuminates my steps. I’ve nothing to complain about.”
NOT SO HAPPY
Not all the Brazilian players, however, are such happy campers.
Bebeto and Dunga got into a fight earlier in the tournament, and now comes defender Roberto Carlos, saying he is being slighted in favor of Dunga.
“I don’t know why it is, with my abilities, that Dunga gets to take all the easy free kicks close to the penalty box,” he said. “I am always left taking them from long distance, sometimes even from the halfway line.”
He also complained about a lack of support from his teammates.
“One of my major strengths is the ability to attack, but no one seems to want to cover for me,” he said. “If a team like Brazil cannot make better use of the second-best player in the world, then what am I supposed to do about it?”
ASK A STUPID QUESTION, GET A . . .
A journalist asked Brazil’s Zagallo why his team has scored so many goals, 13, in the World Cup.
“You say Brazil has scored a lot of goals,” Zagallo said. “I prefer to have many goals and to be [still in the tournament] than to not score and be eliminated, like Italy!”
