Brazil Coach Is Critical of Pele
In an extraordinary interview, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Brazil’s World Cup-winning coach, has blasted Pele, saying that the man generally acknowledged as the greatest player of all time “knows nothing” about soccer.
In addition, Scolari told Chile’s La Tercera newspaper, Brazil’s players did not want to receive the World Cup trophy from Pele after they had beaten Germany, 2-0, in the June 30 final at Yokohama, Japan.
Scolari’s comments appeared in an interview published Sunday and apparently were in reaction to pre-World Cup criticism of the coach and his team by Pele.
“If you talk badly about one person five times, you can’t expect that person to like you afterward,” Scolari said. “I believe that Pele knows nothing about football.
“He has done nothing as a coach and all his analyses always turn out to be wrong. If you want to win a title, you have to listen to Pele and then do the opposite.”
“Pele did not believe in the players, nor in the coach, nor in Brazil’s tactics. The players and the national team staff knew that if Pele turned up there [in the team’s camp], he would not be welcome. He was at the trophy ceremony because he is the best player in the history of football, he is an idol in all of Brazil, but his analyses are worth nothing.”
In May, just weeks before the tournament began, Pele, a World Cup winner in 1958, ’62 and ‘70, said he did not believe Brazil had a chance to win the title. “[Brazil’s players] are not at their best at the moment, and I do not think they will have a good World Cup,” he said. “I think the favorites are Argentina, France, Italy and Portugal.”
Argentina, France and Portugal were eliminated in the first round.
Quintanilla to D.C. United
Teenage striker Eliseo Quintanilla of El Salvador Monday has been signed by D.C. United of Major League Soccer. Quintanilla, 19, is a left-sided forward who made his professional debut in the Salvadoran league at age 16 and his national team debut a year later. He will be eligible for MLS play once he obtains a work visa.
Ferdinand Completes Move
Rio Ferdinand, the world’s most expensive defender and fifth-most expensive player of all time, signed a five-year contract with Manchester United after passing a medical and agreeing to personal terms.
Manchester United paid Leeds United $47.27 million for the England national team defender and revealed Monday that the figure could rise as high as $52.47 million depending on the team’s performance with Ferdinand in the lineup.
“It was a bold step, but I’m happy to be here,” Ferdinand, 23, said. “It wasn’t an easy decision. I spoke to my family about loyalty, but at the end of the day it’s a short career and opportunities like this don’t come around all the time.
“I didn’t want to sit at the end of my career and think I could have done this or that. I thought of how I could improve myself as a player, and this was a step in the right direction for me.”
Stumpf Out in Germany
Reinhard Stumpf became the first coach to lose his job during the new German season. Stumpf was fired by Kaiserslautern, the team he coached to seventh place in the Bundesliga last season. No reason was given for the dismissal of the 40-year-old, who had been Kaiserslautern’s coach since October 2000 and whose contract still had two years to run.
Zico Takes Over in Japan
After officially being announced as Japan’s new national team coach Saturday, former Brazilian standout Zico Monday outlined his plans for the team, saying that his choice of players will be based on form and ability, not reputation.
“It is fair to say that the World Cup squad will be my base, with maybe two or three changes,” he said in Tokyo. “But it is up to those players to maintain that level and keep on trying to improve.
“Football is all about timing, and I will choose my squad based on which players are performing at the required level at that time. Just because someone plays in Europe doesn’t mean he has an automatic right to wear the Japan shirt. He still needs to prove to me that he deserves to be picked.”
Zico, 49, signed an 11-month contract with the Japanese Football Assn. worth an estimated $1.5 million.
Galaxy Exhibition Tonight
The Galaxy will play its reserve team, the Orange County Blue Star of the Premier Development League, in an exhibition at Santa Ana Stadium tonight at 7:30. Gates open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for children.
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Times staff writer Paul Gutierrez contributed to this report.
