Carlos Alberto Parreira, whose future with Brazil is uncertain after the five-time champions were surprisingly eliminated in the quarterfinals of this year’s World Cup in Germany, has re-emerged as an odds-on favourite to be the next coach of Bafana Bafana.
In a long and heated meeting held at the Johannesburg International airport Holiday Inn, a venue frequently used for formal discussions of the South African Football Association (Safa), the body’s executive finally mandated technical committee head Sturu Pasiya to officially offer Parreira the post of manager position of the national team.
Parreira has until the end of the month to accept the offer, believed to be worth more than R1-million a month. This will be the second time the Brazilian is offered the position. He was first approached for the job before the start of the World Cup. Indications were that he was interested but had refused to enter into any contractual negotiations until after the end of the month-long event.
”We have told Sturu that when he comes back to us again he must recommend the appointment of {Parreira]. We have also told Sturu to try and negotiate a reasonable package and we will try our best to meet his requirements,” said an executive committee member, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The 1994 World Cup-winning coach fell out of favour with Safa for a while following rumours that emerged after Brazil’s elimination by France at the quarterfinal stage in Germany. It was believed that he had failed to arbitrate satisfactorily on the disharmony within the Brazil camp between the retiring older players and the new ones.
Many pundits, who say the disorder in the camp had been going on for more than two months leading up to the tournament, believe that this led to the ultimate downfall of the team in the finals.
As a result, there are concerns as to whether the 57-year-old coach can deal with similar sorts of problems within the South African game. However, highly placed sources within the executive say his experience, and the fact that he is a winner of the World Cup — a key requisite for the job — makes him again the preferred candidate.
Parreira regains the favourite position thanks to Luis Felipe Scolari turning down the invitation and opting to extend his contract with Portugal for another two years.
Although Gerald Houllier was another favoured candidate, Mail & Guardian sources at Safa say the fact that he has not won the World Cup rules him out for now. However, should Parreira decline the offer, Houllier will again be favourite — particularly as Safa has little time to start new negotiations with new candidates.
The M&G firmly believes that no local coach is earmarked for the position. The M&G first pronounced a few months ago on the possibility of Parreira becoming the next coach. According to our sources, should Parreira accept the Bafana offer, he will assume his duties at the beginning of next month. He will have only a month to prepare a team for their first-round qualifier for the 2008 African Nations Cup away to Congo Brazzaville in the last week of August.