If South African Football Association (Safa) CEO Raymond Hack was having sleepless nights over a news-agency report from Rio de Janeiro stating that the imminent signing of Brazil’s Carlos Alberto Parreira as the new Bafana Bafana coach had ”hit trouble”, you could hardly have guessed it from his almost flippant dismissal of the uneasy tidings on Sunday.
”There is no foundation to the report whatsoever,” said Hack while pooh-poohing the suggestion that Parreira could end up coaching in the United States or with Brazilian club Fluminense.
”In fact,” added Hack, ” I spoke to Parreira earlier in the day and he did not as much mention the possibility of anything having changed regarding plans to take over as the Bafana coach for the 2010 World Cup.”
Hack, however, admitted there was still no finality on the exact day when the former Brazilian national coach would be arriving in South Africa to finalise his contract.
The Agence France-Presse report quoted Brazil’s O Globo Television as saying that negotiations had stalled ”over the exact nature of Parreira’s responsibilities in South Africa”.
”Carlos Alberto Parreira will not manage the South African team,” reported Panorama Deportivo.
”The idea of South African officials,” it added, ”was to take a coach to occupy this most important function — the technical organisation of the 2010 World Cup.
”The Brazilian will not sign a contract for such a post and will not go to Johannesburg next week as planned.”
But O Globo added discussions could resume if Safa changed its proposal.
”Sources,” continued the news report, ”have also said that Parreira has been linked to a coaching vacancy in the United States and with Fluminense.”
But Hack was adamant Parreira is due in South Africa within the next two weeks. — Sapa