One Coach in Cupboard Not Enough for Brazil
Checking the road signs along the France ’98 trail. . . .
World champion Brazil caused something of a commotion when its soccer federation voiced what amounted to a vote of no confidence in Mario Lobo Zagalo, the only person on the planet to own four World Cup winner’s medals.
A lackluster performance in the CONCACAF Gold Cup with an admittedly weaker-than-usual team caused Brazil to be ridiculed by the media in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.
Acting somewhat precipitously in light of Zagalo’s recent accomplishments--winning the Copa America in Bolivia and the Confederations Cup in Saudi Arabia in 1997--federation officials decided that he needed help.
To that end, it appointed 1958, 1962 and 1966 World Cup goalkeeper Gilmar to scout Brazil’s three first-round opponents--Scotland, Norway and Morocco--and named Zico the team’s “technical coordinator,” with final say in all tactical decisions.
In other words, Zico, who starred on Brazil’s World Cup teams of 1982 and 1986, is in charge of on-field performance and Zagalo, although still No. 1, is reduced to a figurehead.
Zagalo, who was technical director under then-coach Carlos Alberto Parreira on Brazil’s 1994 World Cup-winning team, has refused to have an assistant underfoot. Now he has two.
Already, Zico has recalled 32-year-old Paris Saint-Germain captain Rai, whose last game for Brazil was against Sweden in the ’94 World Cup semifinal.
“It’s great to be back,” Rai said. “I’ll do my best . . . but I know it’ll be hard at my age to make the final squad.”
The first test will come March 25, when Brazil plays European champion Germany.
SAMMER TIME
Matthias Sammer, the sweeper around whom Germany’s defense is built, underwent knee surgery in October and has not even been able to train since, let alone play.
But Germany’s coach, Berti Vogts, has not given up hope that he will be available for the World Cup.
“I will leave the door open as long as possible for him,” Vogts told the General Anzeiger newspaper. “I owe Matthias a great debt [for helping guide Germany to the 1996 European championship].”
Germany plays the United States, Yugoslavia and Iran in France and Vogts is worried about overconfidence.
“There is very little difference between the teams in the finals,” he said. “For lots of people, the United States and Iran are second-rate football countries. Such an attitude is out of date and wrong.”
IRAN GETS READY
While the U.S. will arrive in France fresh off the boat, so to speak, Iran’s players already will have an idea of what to expect long before the teams meet June 21 in Lyon.
Coach Tomislav Ivic has the Iranian team in Brittany for a two-week training camp that will include games against two French first division teams--on Tuesday against Guingamp and Friday against Nantes.
“I know everybody in Iran thinks this team is able to win,” Ivic said. “If I succeed in finding good reserve players, I can pull off surprises. One of the weakest points is the lack of experience at the highest level.”
Iran’s preparations also include a a tournament in Tehran April 20-22 that also features Georgia, Hungary and Jamaica. It returns to Europe in mid-May and will play Inter Milan in Italy May 23 and Croatia in Zagreb June 3.
DOLLAR SIGNS
Nigeria’s players are not thrilled by the financial rewards being offered for winning at the World Cup.
A delegation of players, including team captain Uche Okechukwu, Daniel Amokachi, Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha and Sunday Oliseh, met Nigerian federation officials in Lagos to seek an increase in the bonuses.
The team wants a minimum of $8,000 per player for each for victory in France, where Nigeria plays Spain, Bulgaria and Paraguay in the first round. The federation has offered $6,000. The impasse remains.
During qualification play, each player earned $5,000 per victory and $2,500 per tie.
ITALY’S CHOICE
Italy’s Coach, Cesare Maldini, gave a broad hint that 23-year-old Alessandro Del Piero will be his first-choice striker in France, but said he will not name his roster until the June 2 deadline.
“Alessandro has always been an important player, for Juventus and for the national team,” Maldini told Agence France-Presse. “But now he has matured, physically and mentally, and has the continuity he didn’t have before.
“What’s been important is how he has become stronger as an athlete: increasing his muscle power without becoming too heavy, and retaining all his sharpness and agility.
“That said, his 23 goals this season have surprised even me.”
RETIRING BUT NOT SHY
His team is filled with stars and playing at home, two reasons why Aime Jacquet, France’s coach, has reason to be confident.
But he was hardly modest when he announced that he will retire the day after the World Cup ends in Paris.
“On July 13, I will bid farewell to the French team after a last lap of honor, the day before in the Stade de France--after France’s victory,” Jacquet told France Football magazine.
JAPAN REGROUPS
Even though Japan won the four-nation Dynasty Cup earlier this month, its 2-0 loss to China shattered the calm of Coach Takeshi Okada.
“Japan is physically inferior, even in Asia,” Okada said after his first loss in nine games as national coach. “But there’s nothing we can do about it.
“Now I realize how hard it is to attack a team with strong physical abilities. We need to be more ingenious.”
Japan, which will play Argentina, Croatia and Jamaica in the World Cup, faces fellow France ’98 team South Korea in Seoul April 1 to commemorate their joint-hosting of the 2002 World Cup.
COLOMBIA CONNECTION
Colombia will play four of its World Cup warmup games in the United States, including two in Southern California.
Coach Hernan Dario Gomez’s squad, ignominiously ousted in the first round of USA ‘94, will play Paraguay on March 29 in New York and Mexico in San Diego on April 1.
The Colombians return to San Diego on April 22 to play Chile, and will be back in New York on May 24 against Scotland.
The team completes it preparation in Europe with matches against Germany in Frankfurt on May 30 and Belgium in Brussels on June 4.
QUICK PASSES
Joao Havelange, FIFA’S lame-duck president, has invited North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to attend the opening ceremony for the 1998 World Cup in Paris and is urging North Korea and South Korea to field a unified team when South Korea and Japan co-host the 2002 World Cup. . . . Forward David Ginola has given up hope of making the France squad and has agreed instead to be part of the BBC’s World Cup television commentary team. . . . Less than three weeks after being recalled to Jamaica’s team by Coach Rene Simoes, striker Walter Boyd has been dropped again, this time for skipping an awards ceremony at which England-based forward Deon Burton was named Jamaican Sportsman of the Year. . . . Morocco is trying to arrange a game against the United States or Romania on April 8. The North Africans play France, England and Belgium in the King Hassan tournament at Casablanca May 27-29 before playing Chile in France on June 4 in their last warmup for the World Cup.
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U.S. On the Road to France
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Date Site Result Jan. 24 Miami USA 1, Sweden 0 Feb. 1 Oakland USA 3, Cuba 0 Feb. 7 Oakland USA 2, Costa Rica 1 Feb. 10 Los Angeles USA 1, Brazil 0 Feb. 15 Los Angeles Mexico 1, USA 0 Feb. 21 Miami Netherlands 2, USA 0 Feb. 25 Brussels Belgium 2, USA 0 March 14 San Diego USA 2, Paraguay 2 April 8 TBA April 22 Vienna Austria vs. USA May 16 San Jose USA vs. Macedonia May 24 TBA May 30 Washington USA vs. Scotland June 15 Paris USA vs. Germany (World Cup) June 21 Lyon USA vs. Iran (World Cup) June 25 Nantes USA vs. Yugo. (World Cup)
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